Well, here we are, the other side of Black Friday and, being a creature of habit, I write similar words each year because November is such an incredibly difficult time for niche, independent brands. It is more than obvious that SMEs are unable to compete in a landscape dominated by the conglomerates and given that we each have a choice, our choice was to establish a platform dedicated to independent brands, including our own, and through the decades we have upheld that choice without deviation.

Increasingly, SMEs are choosing to sit out Black Friday because they lack the resources to compete with the deep discounts offered by large corporations and the ‘race to the bottom’ on pricing is totally unsustainable for independent brands, they could not survive, it’s as simple as that. And keeping things simple from my side, I will continue to use our platform to cut through the noise, and there is an awful lot of noise to cut through.

By way of debrief, I am not prepared to race anybody to the bottom and this is certainly true for many of the brands represented on our site, yet in all of this there must always be a recognition of the cutting-edge and pioneering brands which make such a difference to each of us. For us, Black Friday is less about the frenzy and more about celebrating some of our bestselling products. With an ethos of helping to make a difference to our health and wellbeing, the celebration had to be genuine and it had to be meaningful.

At this time of year I usually write the VH Awards and, with an imaginary tiara plonked on my head, I wrote the first-ever VH Awards as a tongue-in-cheek response to the paid-for awards which have become so prevalent across the health and beauty industry. On from that I used the awards as a platform to recognise the outstanding brands and products which we felt really made a difference and, as such, I was taking your lead, using documented statistics to determine outcome.

For several reasons, I am not writing the VH Awards this year, which I will discuss further in a moment, but essentially I have often written that campaigning is in my blood and just perhaps campaigning for the recognition of SMEs is of greater importance this year. In alignment, we continue to campaign for the recognition of the clinically evaluated products that make such a profound difference to our health and wellbeing, objectively, safely and responsibly.

Referencing products, there can be no doubt that Collagen Tripeptide Complex is the story, if not the campaign, of this year. I wrote similar words recently, and in effect I was, and am, campaigning for the recognition of the clinical studies which categorically determined, and continue to determine, the efficacy of collagen tripeptides. Superseding collagen peptides, the industry norm, I stand by every word I have written on this subject and, in full transparency, Collagen Tripeptide Complex is another reason I have chosen not to write the VH Awards this year, it just felt uncomfortable to self-award.

Notwithstanding that decision, I cannot let this moment pass without acknowledging your trust and support and without getting too emotional, it really matters that we stay ahead of the curve and it really matters that we stand outside the crowd with ‘gold standard’ formulations. And herein another race, a far healthier race, because the ‘race to the top’ between HA and Collagen Tripeptide Complex is ongoing, so in the spirit of the moment, when you buy Collagen Tripeptide Complex we will automatically include HA Capsules (15 Capsules), which is worth £17.50, with every order placed.
VH Editorial: Does Your Collagen Supplement Contain Collagen Tripeptides; DoSe Collagen Tripeptide Complex £45 for 90 Capsules + Hyaluronic Acid Capsules High Strength (15 Capsules) Free (worth £17.50) (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 7 December)

Collagen Tripeptide Complex is a compelling story, as is HA, and as we continue to celebrate, I wrote several months ago that would celebrate in style when Mega Probio morphed onto the DoSe branding, and it has morphed, right in the middle of Black Friday. As such, the transition phase is over, all of our supplements now carry the DoSe branding and because I promised a celebration, I am keeping that promise.

DoSe is, and has always been, an exploration of difference unifying expertise, passion and integrity. Embracing unification, we chose to launch the DoSe skincare products on a health platform, and as such this is not only a celebration of Mega Probio, but a celebration of that unification and our passionate belief in helping to make a difference. There can be no greater purpose and so, with purpose, when you buy Mega Probio, we will automatically gift you Hyaluronic Serum (30 ml), which is worth £15. The integration. The celebration.
DoSe Mega Probio £25 for 60 Capsules + DoSe Hyaluronic Serum (30 ml) Free (worth £15) (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 7 December)

Moving on, there really is something tremendously rewarding in writing about brands and products which not only make a difference to each of us, but which make such a significant difference to the dedicated people behind their creation. That meaningful impact often goes beyond the product itself, serving to drive innovation and reminding us that behind every great product, there is a team of people striving to make a positive difference to our health and wellbeing.

The stories are also compelling, and although there are too many stories to cite each of them, I will cite Viridian Nutrition. Led by Cheryl Thallon, I have often written that Viridian are the other side of us, an echo of who and what we are together and if it was possible for another person to be more passionate than I am about supporting independence, that person would be Cheryl Thallon. Together with Shabir, I have the deepest respect for Cheryl and in acknowledging that respect, and the efficacy of their products, I am offering a 15% discount across the Viridian Nutrition products.
Viridian Nutrition Products (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 7 December)

On the subject of stories, I have a few to share with you and I’ll begin with the story behind the launch of Ergothioneine Hand Cream, a story which I think I am still reeling from. Whenever we launch a new product, I tend to write the words accompanying that launch far in advance and such was the case with Ergothioneine Hand Cream, I had actually written the words about three months ago, it was scheduled to launch just ahead of Black Friday. And then it all went wrong.

It was a tight launch, in that the product was scheduled to arrive three days before launch, but that’s fine, I think it’s called living on the edge, but then I fell off the edge. An accident had happened in production, one of the raw ingredients had mistakenly been frozen and although it had defrosted, there was a slight risk that it could affect the efficacy of the formulation. Most obviously we couldn’t take that risk.

In all of this, it was ascertained that not all of the raw ingredient had been frozen, and we were able to do a small production run, but I didn’t receive confirmation until late on the Thursday evening before the Saturday launch. I really didn’t want to delay the launch, so I slightly adjusted the Weekend Read, stating that it was a two phase launch with a caveat that Ergothioneine Hand Cream could possibly flip onto a wait list, and it did, halfway through that Saturday.

Of course it was disappointing, I acknowledge that, but more than that I was concerned that it might be viewed as some clever marketing ploy, which was obviously far from the truth. I’m probably over-sensitive, but across the years I have often questioned the validity of wait lists, but leaving it there, I just want to thank you, as ever, for supporting the launch of Ergothioneine Hand Cream and bearing in mind it was far from straightforward, I retained the launch offer throughout this past week and that will continue across this weekend. And if you were thinking of gifting it, it comes boxed. Easy to wrap.
DoSe Ergothioneine Hand Cream £16 for 75 ml (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 7 December)

The second story is about Spacemasks and I only have myself to blame for this. I was writing about seasonal gifts and I made a suggestion that a box of Spacemasks could be split and used as stocking fillers, or as a thoughtful gift on a pillow. There are five Spacemasks in each box, and I discounted Spacemasks by 15%, but I also included an additional individual Spacemask as a gift with purchase. And this is where it gets funny, because I was so concerned about having enough gifts, I forgot to order the actual products and within moments of the Weekend Read being released, we had a wait list. A very long wait list.

Obviously, we fulfilled all the wait list orders, honouring the discount and the gift with purchase, which will lead me to another story in a moment, but for now I am going to repeat that offer, so with a 15% discount across Spacemasks and an individual Spacemask (original) with every order placed, we go again and I have checked, and double checked, our stock levels, although high demand can trigger a wait list at any given time. And that’s my caveat.
Spacemasks (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 7 December)

Reverting to my words about supporting independent niche brands, there is another story to be told about wait lists, that story being where I have written about exceptional products and the demand has far exceeded supply. These are the wait lists that make me happy, and they make me happy because a small brand has received the recognition they thoroughly deserve and the reward really is in the sharing.

Three examples here, and to continue the sharing, I am offering a 15% discount on two brands and one product, the first brand being Tribe Skincare and their truly exceptional Japanese Bathing Powders, the second is a product, that product being Clinisept+ and I will use the word ‘exceptional’ once again, because Clinisept+ Mouthwash is just that, exceptional, and finally OatSoak, the second brand. We launched OatSoak at the beginning of the year and with each of their products providing soothing relief for dry, sensitive skin conditions including eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis, they stand out in an overcrowded space.
Tribe Skincare Products; Clinisept+ Mouthwash; OatSoak Products (offers end at midnight GMT, Sunday 7 December)

Finally, I am throwing a 15% discount on all of our seasonal gifts, with the exception of TEMPLESPA where we are offering a 10% discount on their seasonal gifts. And we are done, bar the Saturday only treat, which follows.
Seasonal Gifts

So, into the Saturday only treat and with every order placed for £35 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically send you Fulvic Face Cream (30 ml)*, which is worth £15.  Spreading the love, spreading the joy and spreading the smile on my Fulvic face.
Fulvic Face Cream

With the year drawing to a close, I just want to say that we couldn’t do any of this without your loyalty and support, for which I am so incredibly grateful. So, as I thank each and every one of you, together with Shabir, Lara and the entire VH team, I will be abdicating the next Weekend Read to Lara, an annual event which could, in effect supersede the VH Awards and perhaps she might just want to write her own awards. That would be fun.

To close, a song, a song which is also representative of the spirit of the moment. No more words.
The Show Must Go On by Queen; The VH Playlist

With love

Gill x