Published 25th February 2025

Behind the Craft: Shaun the Sheep x Lush

Get ready to soak up the details of our latest collaboration: Shaun the Sheep x Lush.

In this Behind the Craft Q&A, we chat to Lucky Prior, Senior Account Manager at Lush, and Hannah McFarlane, Licensing Manager at Aardman, who explain more about the creative process, from product development to the inspiration behind the scents.

Lucky Prior - Senior Account Manager, Lush

Why Shaun the Sheep?

It all started with the Lush Japan team insisting that we absolutely had to do a Shaun the Sheep collaboration! Bringing our two brands together made perfect sense - we share a strong commitment to handmade craftsmanship and a proud British heritage. Plus, as a huge Aardman fan myself, this was a bit of a dream project!

Describe the product development process for an IP collaboration…

We always begin by immersing ourselves in the source material so, naturally, the team had to watch a bit of Shaun the Sheep (a tough day at work!). The Aardman team also kindly invited us on a studio tour, where we got to see the full production process firsthand.

We then bounce around ideas of what inspired us and explore to translate that into a cosmetic product. Since we invented the beloved Bath Bomb, every collaboration range must include a standout one - so of course, it had to be Shaun!

Our innovation lab then works on 3D moulding the character, creating stencils to hand-spray the details onto Shaun’s face after the bath bomb has been pressed by hand. Then we get to play around with the colours and fragrances that compliment the IP beautifully.

How do you match the scents to the characters?

We work closely with our perfumer to bring both new and classic fragrances to life in every collaboration. For this range, we had the fun of deciding 'what would Mossy Bottom smell like'? We landed on our much-loved ‘Grass’ fragrance, a blend of sandalwood, neroli, and bergamot that captures the scent of freshly cut grass, slick with rain. Who knew Mossy Bottom could smell so good?

For Sleepy Timmy, we chose a calming lavender scent, a nod to counting sheep to fall asleep. And for Shaun, we brought back a retro Lush fragrance called Summer Blues - a fresh, floral, meadow-like scent that makes you feel like you’re strolling through the countryside on a warm spring day.

What’s your favourite product from the range?

I love the Naughty Pigs Shower Jelly! This bouncy, wobbly product perfectly captures the cheeky nature of the characters. Plus, my toddler finds it absolutely hilarious - which, as a bonus, makes bath time a lot more fun!

Hannah McFarlane - Licensing Manager, Aardman

Why Lush?

This collaboration idea actually came from the Lush team in Japan! Shaun the Sheep is really popular in Japan and the Lush team over there were also big fans, once they made the request we realised what a perfect partner Lush was for Shaun the Sheep and we took the idea to the Lush team in the UK.

Working with Lush made a lot of sense - we share many of the same core company values. The Lush founders created their company based on their passion and, like Aardman, there is a craft involved as many of their products are made by hand.

What was your role on the project?

I'm Licensing Manager at Aardman so I was involved in pitching the idea to the UK team, working on the product development with our consumer products team and the less glamorous job of making sure that we had the necessary paperwork in place. I also stayed involved in the project for awareness on the marketing and PR plan ahead of launch. This is also important so that we can make all of our international agents aware of the launch plan.

What excited you most about the collaboration?

I'm a long term Lush fan so this entire project has been a huge highlight for me. I’m really excited to see the product range in store and on the website and hear the feedback from the fans.

Were there any challenges to overcome?

From a product point of view we were concerned that it would be hard to capture our characters' likeness in 3D product form, especially on the bath bombs. The fact that they create products by hand was really helpful in this process and they took all of our feedback on board. Lush have done a fantastic job!

What's your favourite product from the range?

My favourite is the Shaun the Sheep Bath Bomb! The Lush bath bombs are iconic and I’m so pleased that we now we have a version with our favourite sheep.

I also love the Mossy Bottom Spray as it plays into the humour of Shaun the Sheep.

Shop Shaun the Sheep x Lush here.