Photo by Caitlin Abrams
Five years after the late Aveda founder Horst Rechelbacher launched his follow-up brand, Intelligent Nutrients, at Mall of America, the store is closing.
Rechelbacher’s widow Kiran Stordalen, who runs the certified organic beauty brand with Rechelbacher’s daughter Nicole Thomas-Rechelbacher, says they’ve decided not to renew their MOA lease, which ends in July. Going forward, they plan to focus on the Intelligent Nutrients store/salon that is part of company headquarters in Northeast Minneapolis. A second store, opened more recently on New York’s Fifth Avenue, is performing well, Stordalen says. Intelligent Nutrients products are also sold in several hundred salons and stores across the country.
“The Mall of America store was great for us—it was our first entry into bricks and mortar, and a beautiful store,” Stordalen says. “We just want to concentrate our efforts (locally) in one location.”
Intelligent Nutrients opened at MOA in late 2013. It was one of Rechelbacher’s last big projects before succumbing to pancreatic cancer in February, 2014. He changed and tweaked details of the sleek shop (in a plum location on the first floor, south side of the mall) almost until opening day—from interactive stations for skin analysis to a mini salon for cranial massage and hair styling.
But the brand, and the store, seem to have languished without Rechelbacher’s vision and drive. Natural beauty products aren’t as novel as they were back when Rechelbacher launched Aveda in 1978, and Intelligent Nutrients was in its infancy when the founder died. It hasn’t quite found its calling card or established a broad audience.
“The last few years have really been spent handling the nuts and bolts of the business, creating a foundation to evolve and grow,” Stordalen says. “Nicole and I have a strong sense of history and place, but the brand needs to feel relevant to us as well.”
To that end, the two are focusing on the skincare category—staying true to sustainable, natural ingredients without sacrificing performance.
Intelligent Nutrients recently hosted an event at Minneapolis headquarters for social media influencers, and Stordalen says there will be more to come. “It’s really amazing to see what’s happening in Northeast Minneapolis,” she says. “It’s a whole new community and we’re thrilled to be part of it.”
