The Body Shop

The Body Shop is a UK-based cosmetics company founded by the late Dame Anita Roddick in 1976. Inspired by a visit to a store in Berkeley, CA that offered naturally-scented soaps and lotions and was also called the Body Shop, Roddick returned the UK to open her own enterprise. The concept was a success, and The Body Shop expanded at a rate of 50% annually for a number of years. The company's stock was first offered for sale in 1984, and in 1989, Roddick purchased full U.S. and Israeli rights to the name "The Body Shop" from the U.S.-based company. The Body Shop placed an early emphasis on produ