The Body Shop just reformulated its iconic Body Butters – with a new 'scoopable' formula that's perfect for autumn

Few body moisturisers have achieved the cult status of The Body Shop's Body Butters. Landing on shelves in 1992, the colourful tubs quickly became bathroom staples, with scents like Mango, Coconut and Strawberry becoming firm favourites.

Essentially, The Body Shop created a new category of body care. After learning how women in Ghana had long used shea butter to protect and moisturise their skin, founder Anita Roddick whipped up the first Mango Body Butter in her kitchen. Her daughter reportedly coined the name after noting its resemblance to butter and, in the decades since, the rich, cocooning formula has inspired countless iterations across the beauty industry.

For many millennials, Body Butter was our introduction to body care. I can still remember going to my local shop with my sister, making our way through the testers and agonising over which fruity scent to take home (Mango was a firm favourite). Now, the brand has reformulated the range with 11 new and improved Body Butters launching this month – including many of those nostalgic scents we know and love.

What's changed about The Body Shop's Body Butters?

Occasionally, even an icon needs a makeover – and this isn’t the Body Butters’ first. Over their 33-year history, the moisturisers have been reinvented several times, most recently in 2021, when the formulas were updated to contain at least 95% natural-origin ingredients.

For this latest iteration, The Body Shop has looked to what loyal customers loved most, restoring that signature rich, scoopable texture while improving how easily the creams spread and absorb.

The new collection spans a spectrum of textures, from lighter creams through to rich butters and an ultra-rich balm that'll make a perfect autumn-to-winter skin saviour, with formulas tailored to different skin types. According to The Body Shop, they have also been designed to absorb quickly without leaving behind a greasy residue or white cast – and nine out of 10 testers said their skin felt intensely nourished after just one application.

There are 11 Body Butters in total, including Mango, Coconut, Shea, Strawberry, Satsuma, Almond Milk, British Rose, Hemp, Grapefruit, Moringa and Olive.

Shea is one of the richest, with 14% Community Fair Trade shea butter, while Hemp combines hemp seed oil with 12% shea butter for very dry skin. At the lighter end, British Rose, Mango and Coconut are all designed for normal to dry skin.

The packaging has evolved considerably since those brightly coloured tubs I remember, too. The pots are now made from 100% recycled plastic PET and topped with aluminium lids, with both components fully recyclable.

The range also continues The Body Shop's longstanding focus on Community Fair Trade ingredients, including shea butter sourced from the Tungteiya Women's Shea Butter Association in northern Ghana, which the brand has worked with since 1994.

Creamier textures, familiar scents and plenty of nostalgia – it seems there’s still a lot to love about these iconic tubs. The new Body Butters are available in 50ml (£7) and 200ml (£19), with selected scents also available in 400ml tubs (£38).