While the global pandemic left many businesses reeling in uncertainty, it also led to collaboration and a strong sense of community throughout the global spa industry.

For Irish marine skincare brand, VOYA, this meant supporting the businesses very core – its spa partners, whose facilities were closed due to lockdown.

“At its heart, VOYA is a spa brand because it’s where our roots lie and where our future is headed,” said Anhold.

“While we also embrace the opportunities that retail offers both on and offline, we believe it isn’t an either-or situation because our brand wouldn’t have the global success it does without the support of our amazing spa partners.”

VOYA’s first response was to open up online sales to its spa accounts with a combination of discounts for customers – a percentage of which would be redeemable against their own stock purchases in the future.

The team also pivoted to offer clients virtual training and a content library continuously being updated with new social media assets, meditation clips and blog material to help them grow a strong digital presence and maintain customer engagement.

“Our spa partners have always shown us incredible support and loyalty, and in every great business partnership, that’s a two-way street,” said Anhold, “during the pandemic, it’s important to us to show support in any way we can to ensure we all weather this storm together and come out stronger on the other side.”

In her opinion, the industry must keep moving forward together, no matter what the pandemic crisis throws at it.

Anhold believes the key for spas to thrive and survive will be a willingness to embrace change and new ideas and solutions.

“Ultimately, this is a very resilient industry which has survived many global crises. At VOYA we’ve had to become adept at fast-tracking decisions, adopting new technologies and adjusting our strategies, because every day is bringing a new challenge!

“Things may not return to how they were before, but there are always other dynamic ways to create revenue. My advice for spa businesses is to remain as agile and open to new ideas as possible.”