The Lush Kitchen is Closing?!?! My Thoughts!

Hello and welcome back to my blog!
Today is a sad day in the Lush world. If you haven't heard... the Lush Kitchen is officially closing its doors. The menu that ran from the 1st-6th of October 2017 was the last menu and the kitchen is ceasing production when these items are made and shipped. So, how did this happen? What happens now? and my opinions? Keep reading to find out! 

What Happened?
On Monday Oct. 2nd Lush released a text message style ad saying that a new "surprise" was coming on Friday. As expected, fans blew up Instagram and Facebook with questions and speculation about what was coming. At 8am (UK time) on Friday it was then announced that the kitchen would be closing its doors in exchange for a new exclusives program which they would release more details about later.


What Happens Now?
So, from the information we have now...
1. Exclusives are not going away completely. Oxford Street exclusives will still be available on the UK site. These products are things like Vegelene All Purpose Balm, Golden Slumbers Bath Bomb, and Supertramp Bubble Bar. Also, there will be a new exclusives system that has yet to be announced which is replacing the Kitchen

2. The kitchen has released a limited edition, special gold Polaroid for this occasion. It is available for purchase on the kitchen site and you can tack it on to any order. So, if you loved the Polaroids, this is for you!

3. No word yet on what will be replacing the kitchen. On Facebook and Instagram staff have hinted that exclusives will still be available "several times a year." This means although exclusives will not be available every week, fan favorites will be available in bigger batches throughout the year. It appears almost as if they're going back to something similar to the old and well-loved retro system.


My Opinions on the Decision
I understand WHY Lush has made the decision, and I'm excited to see what happens next. However, I do have some issues that Id' like to address.

1. This was done horribly. The announcement was done cryptically and even after the announcement no staff member has any clear information to give customers. Many of us have been loyal purchasers of kitchen products for the last 3 years. As a company who claims to care I find it frustrating that Lush is seemingly just playing things by ear. There's no real plan, no real answers and I find that very inconsiderate of the people who have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on their products over the years.

2. This doesn't solve the "sell out" problem. Lush claims that by making bigger batches that products will stay around longer so most fans can get their hands on them, but they will still be exclusive. However, this doesn't make much sense. One of the many reasons the kitchen sold out so fast was "bulk buyers" who would sit and buy 10-20 of each product and turn around and flip those products for a profit on places like EBay, Mecari, and Poshmark along with other resale sites. Although this sounds good in theory, these exclusives products will STILL sell out more quickly than regular products (unless bulk buying is fixed) and there are less chances to pick up exclusives since we're going from roughly 520 exclusives a year to much less (some are speculating less than 100)


3. This is NOT a multi-order system. Lush claims this will save money as it will allow customer to make one order for several favorite products because they'll be able to wait to get their hands on a product. with the kitchen you couldn't "save" products and if you liked a complete menu, you had to make a separate order with separate shipping each day. They claim this eliminates that. However, this isn't' an ANSWER to that problem. They've simply eliminated the need for such a system instead of upgrading their system to fit with the needs of the consumer base.


In the end, Lush is a business and they will do what they feel is best for the company and consumers, However I do with there was more transparency from the brand. The Kitchen was an amazing idea and could have worked had Lush actually put time and energy into upgrading systems to make it more efficient or had listened to inquiries form customers.

I'm disappointing in the Kitchen closing and I'm frustrated with Lush overall and the way that this announcement was done and handled. However, i am excited to see what's coming next and we can only hope that everyone will be able to enjoy our exclusive with whatever the new system brings.

Leave a comment down below about what you think about what happened and if you're excited to hear what the new system will bring!

Hapy Reading!