Fold7Design Partners with Bodycare to Relaunch the Brand as a Social First Retail Experience

Oct. 22, 2026

Bodycare was founded in 1970 as a value driven beauty retailer serving communities across the Midlands and North of England. The brand went into administration in 2025 before being acquired by an investment group led by former Body Shop and Molton Brown CEO Charles Denton. 

Fold7Design, part of Fold7, were appointed to relaunch the business with a fresh new social first retail concept and a new brand world delivering a retail experience fit for the TikTok generation. As the high street continues to evolve and retailers adapt to changing shopping habits and the shift to on-line, physical stores must clearly define their value proposition

Fold7Design's re-launch of Bodycare demonstrates how to bridge this shift by creating an in-store experience that mirrors the discovery and engagement of digital platforms, whilst leveraging the community and personal touch that only a physical location can provide. 

An AI-powered retail technology is central to the store roll out providing real time analyses of customer behaviour, product trends, pricing, stock levels and creator performance, allowing Bodycare to adjust decisions across merchandising, supply chain and operations in real time.

The agency commenced the reimagination of the brand by defining all what Bodycare stands for: a belief in community, a desire to serve the underserved, delivering quality beauty products for everyone with honest value, delivered through rich discovery both online and in-store.

As part of this the rebrand needed to reflect the diversity of Bodycare's customers, recognising that beauty comes in many forms rather than promoting a single ideal. That thinking became the foundation to the new identity; a flexible system of symbols that take all shapes and sizes. These graphic elements adapt across touchpoints -offering range from abstract forms to more literal iconography. As most people now discover new beauty trends through social media, several shapes deliberately mimic established social symbolism including emojis such as hearts and speech bubbles. The motion identity alludes to interactions like the “social swipe”, while product and navigation signage extends the theme, written to invite exploration rather than simply direct traffic.

In a deliberate move away from the clinical, pharmacy-like colours common in the category, and informed by colour semiotics research into shades that symbolise health, optimism and energy – they developed a convention-defying fresh, bright colour palette.

Ryan Newey, Chief Creative Officer at Fold7, explains the thinking behind the brand:

"The whole experience is designed to feel like a close friend or maybe an older sibling sharing something they've discovered with you. You won't find the usual retail language telling you that shampoo is on special offer; it's much more based around real customer insights, situations and products, the way people really talk to each other. We call it 'big sister energy', and it runs through every one of the brand's touchpoints, whether you're seeing something we share on social, finding a new product in-store for the first time, or booking your first piercing."

 

The Bodycare Studio format which features in every store puts this connection with social media at the centre of the store, blending traditional retail with social engagement. Stores feature live broadcast studios and spaces where customers and creators alike can make content and share it with their followers in real time. The layout is designed around the excitement of discovery, revealing categories including K-beauty and fragrance around every corner, much like scrolling a feed. A fully integrated creator studio, built for TikTok Live, creator content and social commerce, is free for local creators to use, turning each store into a platform for local content creation, conversation and advocacy, with content reflecting the interests and trends of that store's own community.

Charles Denton, CEO at Bodycare, said:

“Bodycare has always stood for making beauty accessible to everyone, but we saw an opportunity to completely reimagine what a value beauty retailer could be. Fold7Design has been instrumental in bringing that vision to life, creating a brand and store experience that reflects how a new generation discovers, engages with and shops for beauty. This is about more than relaunching a heritage brand. It’s about building the future of accessible beauty retail, where great value meets great discovery, and everyone feels that Bodycare is a place for them.”

 

The result is a retailer that remains resolutely value-led but never feels budget. The new concept is a model for how the high street and social media can work together, providing consumers with a reason to discover, engage and belong in a physical space.

Bodycare stores include Leicester, Sheffield and Bradford.