Mayah launch ushers in a new era of maternal bodycare
UK – Personal care brand Mayah has launched with a debut collection of three dermatologist-developed, clinically tested bodycare products designed for women from trying to conceive to pregnancy, breastfeeding and beyond.
Founded by Jessica Smith and Rebecca Heywood, the brand aims to address a gap between mother-and-baby products and mainstream bodycare by creating a dedicated proposition centred on mothers’ changing needs.
The launch signals a broader shift in maternal wellbeing, as consumers increasingly seek products that prioritise efficacy, safety and identity rather than treating motherhood as an extension of babycare or failing to cater for the demographic at all. Mayah’s category-first positioning highlights the commercial opportunity in developing premium, science-led solutions for an underserved audience.
This launch reflects themes explored in our reports Matrescence and Maternal Gaze, which examine the profound shifts experienced by new mothers and the cultural reframing of motherhood and new commercial opportunities across beauty, fashion and wellbeing.
Strategic opportunity
Develop supportive, safe and care-led products that acknowledge the physical, emotional and identity shifts of matrescence across the fourth trimester and beyond, rather than treating pregnancy as a single life stage
Helsinki turns sauna into an urban bathing ritual
Finland – Saunasaari, a sauna-dedicated island in the heart of Helsinki, is offering an archipelago wellness experience with panoramic views of the city.
Available to reserve on Fridays and Saturdays, the island is reached by water taxi from Market Square and balances urban access with nature-led escape.
Finland has more than 3m saunas – enough for its entire population to sauna at once – but Saunasaari reframes the ritual as an immersive hospitality model. The island includes separate changing cabins, dining spaces, a summer kitchen, wood-fired hot tubs and Helsinki’s only traditional smoke sauna.
Saunasaari demonstrates how wellness experiences can move beyond optimisation, blending tradition, social connection and nature into culturally rooted rituals.
Read our Urban Bathing report to discover how sensorial wellness experiences rooted in ancient practices are redefining wellbeing as a social, place-based ritual.
Strategic opportunity
How can your brand move wellness into urban spaces? Consider designing culturally rooted rituals that feel local, social and lived in, with experiences built around atmosphere, heritage and shared participation
Stat: Staff uniforms have a measurable impact on purchase decisions
UK – New research from Murray Uniforms, a managed corporate uniform service, has found that 64% of UK consumers are more inclined to purchase when staff wear smart uniforms – and 51% have left a store without buying because of how staff presented.
Two independent UK studies of more than 1,000 consumers and 2,573 uniform-wearing employees revealed that trust is equally affected: 78% feel more confident asking for and following advice from well-presented staff, while 58% say uniform affects their trust in the brand itself. The effect is strongest in travel and hospitality across every measure.
As brands invest heavily in digital experience, the physical signals that build in-store trust are often overlooked. Our Retail Staff Futures report unpacks how, beyond staff presentation, the humanity and emotional intelligence of store workers will make them more essential in the new chapter of bricks-and-mortar retail.
Strategic opportunity
Uniform sits at the intersection of brand identity, staff confidence and customer trust. Treat it as a commercial asset and measure it against purchase intent, not just operational cost