OHH! (Oh Hey Hero) vegan body care targets Gen Z via H&M Beauty partnership

OHH! (Oh Hey Hero) is the latest body care brand elevating beauty routines. Its collection of 10 everyday vegan body essentials will launch exclusively with H&M Beauty from 20 April. Created with Gen Z in mind, the brand describes their offering as a ‘honest and modest curation of products that make life a little easier and a whole lot more enjoyable’.

Gen Z are shaping the face of beauty and OHH!’s mission is to upgrade beauty routines with their superhero line up of elevated essentials, championing effective formulations with smart application formats and eye-catching packaging that help users feel comfortable and confident in their own skin. OHH!’s range will be available in more than 2000 H&M stores and online across selected markets.

We spoke to OHH!’s Brand Manager Johanna Lismats about the launch, what makes OHH! different from other vegan body care brands on the market and what she thinks the future holds for Gen Z beauty.

Johann Lismats

OHH! (Oh Hey Hero) is such an interesting name for a brand - what made you choose it?

We believe everyone can be a hero and that’s where the inspiration for the name came from.

We wanted a name that felt empowering and confident, which is exactly how we want our customers to feel when they use these products.

What makes OHH! different to other vegan body care brands on the market?

We think OHH! offers a unique and playful range of body care at an accessible price point. We are excited to be able to bring more vegan products to our customer offer through OHH! And we believe OHH! is a great addition to our own assortment, offering accessible vegan body care for younger beauty loving consumers.

Can you tell us about the range?

The brand and range is inspired by every young person’s potential to be their own hero, OHH! celebrates individuality and body acceptance. There are 13 products in the range - customers can expect body lotion, body wash, antiperspirants, colourful body scrubs, functional moisture stick and a clarifying body serum. Every item in the range is a hero product because each one has their own unique purpose and as a collection, they all complement one another perfectly.

Little Champ

The Little Champ Functional Moisturizing Stick (£7.99) is infused with shea butter and has smoothing and anti-chafing properties that leave skin feeling silky, soft and effortless. The Little Mx Magic Body Lotion (£6.99) is a lightweight and hydrating lotion that has been formulated with dry skin types in mind. It contains skincare heroes jojoba and shea butter and is fast absorbing.

The Clear Up Charlie Clarifying Body Serum (£7.99) contains 2% salicylic acid. It has exfoliating properties that work to keep blackheads and whiteheads at bay. The Prom Clean Body Wash (£4.99) is a shower gel with citrus notes that softens skin, leaving your body feeling clean and fresh.

The Caretaker Razor (£7.99) has been made with a vegan strip. It has 5 blades that glide over skin without tugging it, providing an easy and effortless shave for all. The Skin Saver Sidekick Shaving Gel (£7.99) contains a moisturising formula that provides a close shave without clogging your razor.

The collection also includes Smells Like Rainbows Anti-Odor Spray (£7.99), Smells & Whistles Anti-Perspirant Roll-On (£4.99), Wonder Kid Hand Cream (£3.99) and Get Into The Smooth Body Scrub (£7.99).

Can you tell us about the ingredients used in the products?

Ingredients aren’t really something we focused on during the development phase, with the exception of the vegan credentials. Instead, we’ve chosen to focus on how each product will benefit customers’ routine. For example, the Clarifying Body Serum has 2% Salicylic acid which is a hero ingredient that is renowned for its clarifying properties and then we also have our hydrating products such as hand cream and body lotion which contain jojoba oil.

Smells Like Rainbows

Which item in the range do you think will be popular with H&M customers and why?

As OHH’s Product Developer and Brand Manager, I’m attached to all of the products but if I had to choose it would be the Smells and Whistles Anti-Perspirant. It’s a favourite of mine - a true everyday hero and staple. The second product I love is the Little Champ Functional Moisturizing Stick, it’s such a great multi-functional hero product that helps moisturise specific areas on the body. It also helps prevent chafing too. We hope our customers will enjoy the full range as each product complements one another perfectly.

The Caretaker Razor

How do you want consumers to feel when they incorporate OHH products into their daily routine?

We hope consumers feel like OHH! products will help them keep things simple and accessible. We also want the products to become iconic bathroom cabinet staples!

Why is OHH targeted towards Gen Z? 

We saw an opportunity to offer more relevant products to the Gen Z consumer within our offering. We are always looking for ways to diversify our range and we believe OHH! will do just that.

How will OHH make beauty accessible for all?

We want to represent a real and relevant reflection of body image and skin image - disrupting old beauty standards and expectations in the process.

Can you tell us about the strategy the brand has in place to reach consumers?

We hope to be able to reach our customers where we know they spend most of their free time which is online and in the SoMe spaces as well as through our 2000 stores worldwide.

What are your hopes for the partnership with H&M? 

To have OHH! launching under the H&M Beauty umbrella is great because it has the benefit of the infrastructure of a well-established and widely known international brand which means we will be able to bring the brand to a wider customer base.

There are 10 bodycare essentials in the range – are there plans to include more products?

All I can say so far is that we have great hopes and ambitions for OHH! We hope to be able to share more when we can in 2023!

What are your thoughts on Gen Z beauty? How would you like to see it evolve in the near future? 

I think Gen Z beauty is wonderful and I expect to see it evolve into an even more open and accepting space that it is today. Gen Z has paved the way for that and I am excited to see what happens next.