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Rea Ann Silva, the famed makeup artist behind the Beautyblender sponge, found herself at a crossroads in 2018. Beautyblender had taken off as a makeup tool, selling 17 units per minute depending on the brand. However, the founder and CEO wanted to expand into cosmetics. “I thought to myself, if I could get everyone who loves Beautyblender to try my foundation just once, I could be successful,” she recalls.
Silva faced a common challenge. In order to stand out in a saturated market, he had launched with a singular product that he had perfected. By enabling laser-focused marketing, targeting and branding, a single SKU approach gives brands greater authority as they only need to demonstrate their expertise in one category. However, when the founders, or investors, want to see faster growth and higher returns, expansion becomes necessary. Brands then need to convince customers of the appeal of the new launches, without cannibalizing the original offering.
“It’s really hard for brands to launch themselves and stand out, so we often see beauty brands choosing to build authority in a single category so they can own it,” says Marko Horvat, director of consumer and retail investment banking at Finance Raymond James. From there, it’s not impossible to get a similar presence in other categories, but it has to be done carefully, says Lisa Payne, chief beauty officer at trend agency Stylus. “Once consumers begin to understand you, your place, and your value within a particular category, there is potential for extension.”
It’s a formula that has worked for brands like Olaplex, La Mer, and Augustinus Bader. What unites these brands is that they all have their own ingredient, which can be applied in new formats. When Estée Lauder bought La Mer in 1995, the brand had only one product, the original Crème de La Mer, which contains the brand’s signature ingredient, called Miracle Broth, a moisturizing and repairing extract made from seaweed. Now the brand has over 48 products in the UK market alone, including lip balms, serums and cleansers, all featuring Miracle Broth.
La Mer has expanded to over 48 products in the UK market alone since it was acquired by Estée Lauder in 1995.
Photo: Courtesy of La Mer
Source: news.google.com