Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Milk Makeup's Unique Formulas and Influencer Marketing Drive Success
Similar to Milk Makeup's Unique Formulas and Influencer Marketing Drive Success (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Milk Makeup's Unique Formulas and Influencer Marketing Drive Success
- 3. Mazdack Rassi Zanna Roberts Rassi Georgie Greville Dianna Ruth
- 4. Milk Makeup is a part of the Milk Group consisting of the makeup line, a creative agency, studio and production services, and a full-service creative studio. The makeup line was developed and created at their Milk photography studio in New York.
- 5. "The word ‘cosmetics' scared the hell out of me. It seemed so serious. But when we started throwing around the word makeup, and paint and fun, it became clear that the ethos of the line could be about highlighting who you are, as opposed to covering you up" - Rassi
- 6. Product Line
- 7. The original product line included various makeup sticks, tubes of pigment intended to be applied with fingers, and rollerballs. All of their products are designed to have a quick and easy application that does not involve any extra tools.
- 8. Today, all of Milk Makeup is cruelty-free, paraben-free, and 100% vegan. Creating healthy skin care and makeup products made with high-quality ingredients is very important to the founders.
- 9. Throughout the years, they have expanded and changed their product line. They have created more makeup and skincare sticks including the watermelon brightening serum, the matcha cleanser, the matcha toner, and the luminous blur stick. They have also recently introduced their Kush makeup line including a mascara and a brow gel infused with CBD oil.
- 10. Distribution
- 13. Competitors
- 16. Price
- 17. The Milk Makeup sticks range from $24-$36. The most expensive product is the top-selling holographic stick which is $28 for 0.2 ounces. The two priming sticks are $36 for 1 ounce and the rest of the products are $24-$26 for 1-1.2 ounces. Many of the products are sold in mini sizes which are $14 for 0.19 ounces.
- 18. Milk’s Blur Stick Smashbox’s Photo Finish Primer Milk’s Lip & Cheek $36 / 1oz Nars’ The Multiple $36 / 1oz $24 / 1oz $39 / 0.5oz
- 19. Promotion
- 24. Email marketing is an extremely effective way to reach consumers and is very simple and cost- effective. Milk Makeup keeps a mailing list of previous customers and those who sign up and sends daily emails promoting new products and sales.
- 25. Strengths
- 26. Unique Products
- 27. Influencer Marketing Good reviews from popular, credible influencers help the company through social proof, friendship, and liking, prompting consumers to make purchase decisions based on the recommendation from people they like and trust.
- 28. Inclusivity
- 30. Weaknesses
- 31. From their launch, Milk focused a lot of their marketing on promoting their new and unique product formulas and application styles. Their simple stick formulas had been some of the first to appear on the market, especially the skincare stick formulas. This focus worked extremely well for gaining traction within the beauty news community and with influencers. They created a lot of buzz which helped promote their launch. However, since then they have strayed from marketing the uniqueness of the product ingredients and application style. While their current customers know about the unique products, consumers unfamiliar with the brand do not. Part of their marketing should still highlight their unique products in order to appeal to newer customers.
- 32. Limited Availability No international distribution online or in stores Only available in person at Sephora and Urban Outfitters in US
- 33. Higher price range Milk Makeup falls in the high end range of makeup. Not all consumers are willing to pay as much for their cosmetics and would prefer brands like Essence where the majority of the products are under $5.
- 34. Opportunities
- 35. International Expansion • Currently, Milk Makeup is working on expanding their shipping capabilities on their website to include international shipping • Milk’s main competitor, Glossier has recently expanded into the international market and has been incredibly successful • Selling in Sephora and Urban Outfitters stores abroad can reach even more consumers and gain more success than Glossier has with their online-only sales
- 36. Domestically, creating a partnership with Ulta Beauty and selling Milk Makeup products in their 1124 stores across the US can help expand their reach and brand recognition in the US.
- 37. Expanding the Shade Range Currently, Milk’s Blur Liquid Matte Foundation comes in 24 shades and the Flex Concealer comes in 16 shades. Comparatively, Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Foundation comes in 40 shades.
- 38. Nikita DragunGabriel Zamora Influencer Partnership Opportunities
- 39. Zoe SuggNicol Concilio Influencer Partnership Opportunities
- 40. Market Research
- 41. Observation As a basic technique, observation could give us great information about consumer behaviors. We would observe customers in Sephora and Urban Outfitters stores in the US and potentially Ulta stores as well as international Sephora and Urban Outfitters stores. Observing how the consumers interact with our products and even asking them questions along with asking questions to the employees can tell us if our in store marketing materials are successful and if the products themselves are popular. Analyzing what is popular in what locations could help us better determine what new products and marketing materials would be successful in the future.
- 42. Surveys Surveys are a great tool to find out basic information about consumers. In order to measure the success of influencer partnerships as well as basic marketing tactics, we would survey those who purchase products from the Milk website asking where they heard about the brand and / or products purchased. This information could gage the reach of the marketing efforts as well as the success of any partnerships. This method is very affordable, easy, and could be sent out in the email receipts to customers.
Editor's Notes
- Milk Makeup was founded by Mazdack Rassi (co-founder at Milk Studios), Zanna Roberts Rassi (beauty and fashion editor for Marie Claire), Georgie Greville (creative director and filmmaker), and Dianna Ruth (product developer and COO) in early 2016.
- In 2016, the Milk companies had an online following of over 1.4 million. Their followers were mostly creative, non-traditional, young people. Already having a strong hold on this demographic within the photography, fashion, and music communities, the company knew how to create a movement within this community and kept that in mind with their initial concepting and launch.
- The founders wanted to make a cosmetics line that was totally game-changing and not having a background in the cosmetics industry allowed them to do just that. It is common for brands to take already established products and ideas from other companies and try to improve them. With a fresh perspective, the Milk founders did not look at what the competitors were doing and try to one-up them. From the formula, to the application, to the packaging, they wanted everything to be new and unique. There are multi-use lip and cheek tints, various highlighters, bronzer, makeup primer, facial serum, cleanser, toner, and facial oils that all come in the stick form.
- Milk Makeup is sold online at their milkmakeup.com website and ships domestically anywhere in the United States. They are working on expanding to ship internationally.
- Milk Makeup is also sold in Urban Outfitters and Sephora stores and their online sites. It was originally launched in 50 Sephora stores on March 15, 2016, and in June of 2016 was released in Urban Outfitters stores. By the end of 2016 Milk Makeup was in 200 brick and mortar stores in the US. Milk is working on expanding to Sephora stores in Canada and Europe. Both Urban Outfitters and Sephora attract customers in Milk's target market, those on the forefront of trends and those who want a simple and quick routine to fit into their busy lives.
- Glossier is a main competitor of Milk Makeup. Both companies focus on simple, easy to use skin care and makeup. They have similar branding styles with classic and sleek component designs and images advertising a fresh, lighter coverage makeup look.
- Another competitor is the makeup brand, NUDESTIX. One of Milk’s original and most popular product type are their stick products. The NUDESTIX product line is based on stick formula face, eye, and lip products. Similar to Milk, NUDESTIX products are intended to be easy to use without the need for outside tools. Their face products even have a built in blending brush. In terms of marketing, NUDESTIX aligns more with the classic makeup brand style rather than the experimental nature of Milk Makeup.
- Milk Makeup's pricing is similar to if not more competitive than their direct competitors, Glossier and NUDESTIX, as well as most other high-end products sold alongside Milk products at Sephora. Glossier's products are similar prices but are smaller in size. Their Haloscope stick highlighter is $22 for 0.19 ounces of product compared to Milk’s highlighter stick which is $24 for 1.0 ounce of product. NUDESTIX also have similar prices for smaller sizes like their Nudies Tinted Blur Stick which is $30 for 0.22 ounces.
- Comparing Milk's products to companies with non-stick formulas, Milk is similar if not more affordable. One of the most popular blurring primers on the market, Smashbox's Photo Finish primer, is the same price and size as Milk's primer stick, $36 for 1 ounce of product. Compared to Nars' best-selling The Multiple blush product, Milk's Lip + Cheek is $15 cheaper for twice the amount of product. Milk tries to keep their prices in the high-end makeup price range. Despite cosmetics typically having a markup of 60-80%, Milk Makeup is able to use natural, paraben-free, vegan ingredients to create their products and keep them at the same price or at a lower price than their competition while giving more product for the price.
- From the beginning, Milk has used the phrase "Live Your Look" to promote the brand. They have released video stories and blog posts about Milk Girls and Milk Boys and how they use Milk products to express themselves. Milk's campaigns feature people of all ages, races, genders, and sexualities. Here is the main promotional video combining each individual segments of the Milk Girls and Milk Boys chosen for the campaign. The video includes consumers who are have a more eclectic style as well as those with a more classic, natural style. This depicts the wide range of styles that can be achieved with the Milk products. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Drr5XWvfeQ
- A large part of the “Live Your Look” campaign includes the artist, Leikeli47. She is a masked artist and despite covering part of her face, Milk chose her as a spokesperson because she told the company that “she had never worn makeup before the brand came along and was so inspired that she created a song for her album about the brand.” This song is titled ”MILK” after the makeup brand. Here is a longer version of her ”Live Your Look” story that appeared in the main “Live Your Look” campaign video as well as the music video for her song “MILK.” Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_X-Nm1ujv0&t=2s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV9qcFv1VtY
- Another big campaign created by Milk was the #BlurTheLines campaign that challenges gender norms. It is inspired by their Blur Stick product. Milk worked with David Yi, the founder of the men’s beauty site Very Good Light, to create this video. Along with Milk, "Yi says he wanted to capture the importance of gender fluidity in cosmetics. ‘We needed to do a genderless campaign where we can blur the lines between sexualities, genders and show that makeup is for all.’” This campaign specifically highlights Milks company value of inclusivity. Milk makeup is not just for women that fits into the traditional standard of beauty. Milk makeup is for everyone of all genders who wants to use makeup to express themselves and who they are, whether that be very simple or more creative. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoTLhHC9ZQw
- In 2017, Milk partnered with the New York LGBTQ+ organization, The Center, to create the ”Glitter=___” campaign for Pride Month. With this campaign, Pride branded products were released including the Glitter Stick and the Pride Pack which had a Glitter Lip Gloss and the Equality Tattoo Stamp. 50% of the profits from the Pride products go to The Center. Along with the products, members from The Center and the beauty community, like bloggers Gabe Zamora and Kevin Ninh, wrote personal essays about what glitter and beauty means to them In their lives. They also appeared in the video for the campaign seen here. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHPsEnXAY4c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG2iWz8Vq0k
- As previously mentioned, the Milk Makeup founders wanted to create unique products unlike any other products on the market. As a brand, they are known for being experimental. Using ingredients like meteorite powder or CBD oil in their products gives them a great marketing opportunity. The meteorite powder in their holographic stick highlighter creates a product that is “out of this world” both in the ingredients and in the look of the product on the skin. Using CBD oil is extremely nourishing for the lashes and eyebrows. So, Milk came out with the KUSH line at a time where the use of CBD oil is becoming legal and research is coming out about the benefits of the oil. This generated a lot of positive press and positive consumer reviews about the product.
- Influencers are extremely helpful in increasing sales. If an influencer is seen using a product or reviews a product on their social media, their followers are likely to go out and purchase the item. Jeffree Star, who has a following of over 11 million on YouTube alone, featured Milk’s holographic stick in a video and Thomas Halbert, who has over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, featured the Blur Stick, both of which led to a huge increase in sales and brand recognition for Milk. Influencers, both large and small, can have a huge impact on a company’s sales and Milk has been successful in tapping into that market.
- Choosing to brand the company as one that puts inclusivity at the forefront of their values is extremely effective in today’s society. This created the opportunity for a wide range of consumer demographics to be interested in their products. To further this idea, their partnership with the Center and their support of the LGBTQ+ community has been successful because the marketing around it is genuine and does not appear to the consumers to be a promotional stunt. Their partnership is not just used to sell products during Pride month but is part of their overall brand image. The success of the partnership can be seen in the high sales and products selling out during these promotions.
- Another strength for Milk Makeup is their association with the Milk Studios brand. Milk Studios has offices in New York and Los Angeles and are very well known within their industry. The founders extending the Milk brand to their makeup line gives them a leg up on other cosmetics companies that do not already have a set brand with connections. To those who know the Milk Studios brand, the availability heuristic causes consumers to be able to call the brand to mind as well as have positive associations with the makeup brand, despite being new. With their connections through Milk Studios, they were able to sell their product in Sephora from the time they launched. The Milk Studios connections to celebrities also helps with Milk Makeup’s promotion. Being able to have big stars like Zoë Kravitz, Salt-n-Pepa, and Jaden Smith host their launch party gave them credibility from the beginning.
- There are consumers who would be willing to spend more but only shop at drugstores for their cosmetics. However, as a high end brand, Milk Makeup is not sold at drugstores and these people do not have the option to purchase Milk products.
- Right now, Milk Makeup products are only available in the US. Including international shipping as well as expanding to international Sephora stores in Canada and Europe will greatly increase their reach and client base. With the many interactions Milk has with beauty influencers, international social media users and YouTube viewers see the content created by these influencers involving the Milk products and are exposed to the brand. However, they do not have access to purchase the products. Expanding international shipping and distribution to international brick and mortar stores could be extremely successful. International expansion has proven successful for one of Milk’s biggest competitors, Glossier. Glossier products are sold direct to consumer from their website or from one of their two brick and mortar locations in New York and Los Angeles. Glossier first expanded to the United Kingdom and Canada and has been incredibly successful so far. They hosted a pop-up shop in London in October 2017 which drew over 10,000 visitors. Their UK sales are expected to exceed $10 million in the first year. Like Milk, Glossier does not release their exact revenue, however market analysts estimate their 2017 revenue to be around $50 million (Fernandez, 2018). With very similar branding and reach within the US, it can be expected for Milk Makeup to mirror Glossier’s success with an international expansion. Unlike Glossier, Milk Makeup can be sold in international Sephora and Urban Outfitters stores increasing the possibility for more international consumers.
- Unlike Sephora, Ulta Beauty stores carry a large price range of products from extremely affordable brands like Essence, whose products are mostly under $15 with many products under $5, to luxury brands like Estée Lauder. Ulta Beauty appeals to a wider range of shoppers than Sephora, so having a Milk Makeup display at Ulta Beauty would gain attention from customers who do not go to higher-end stores like Sephora to purchase their cosmetics. With makeup, many consumers are afraid to purchase products online because they cannot see how the color would look on their skin tone. Selling their products in the Ulta stores which are in more areas in the US than Sephora or Urban Outfitters will give more consumers in the more central, suburban, rural United States the opportunity to purchase Milk products in person. Ulta carries both high-end, prestige brands as well as more affordable, mass brands. Senior Vice President of Merchandising at Ulta, Monica Arnaudo explains ”we definitely see a lot of guests coming in that are brand new to Ulta start out shopping in mass and they only buy mass. As they continue to shop within Ulta, we see that in year two and year three they begin to enter into the prestige side.” (Thomas, 2018). The majority of Ulta customers shop both prestige and mass brands totaling at 77% of the customer base (Thomas, 2018). Brands like Wet ‘n’ Wild and Morphe who have recently began selling with Ulta have done incredibly well selling out collections exclusive to Ulta. We can expect Milk to have a similar response if partnering with Ulta.
- While Milk’s branding is heavily influenced by inclusivity, the color range for some of their products does not match up to their branding. Looking at the lightest and the darkest shades of their foundations, there is a very large difference between the two. However, the majority of the shades fall towards the lighter end of the range, and there are only 24 shades available. Other brands have been making extreme progress in having extremely diverse shade ranges and brands like Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty have released foundations with 40+ shades. Having the 8 shades in the darker range, Milk Makeup has more darker shades than many other brands. However, as a brand that promotes diversity and inclusivity, they should have a larger, more diverse shade range. Fenty Beauty had extremely positive reactions to their extensive shade range and has been one of the most popular foundations since it’s release because of its emphasis on diversity. It has inspired shade expansions for many other companies as well. As a brand that values inclusivity, Milk should prioritize expanding their shade range for their foundation and concealer.
- Collaborating with an influencer to create a product or a product line has been incredibly successful for other brands. Morphe is known for their collaborations with influencers like Jaclyn Hill, who has had numerous successful Morphe eyeshadow palette collaborations, and James Charles, whose new collaboration sold out in under 10 minutes (Mansson, 2018). Another brand, ColourPop, has also had a lot of success with their collaborations with influencers like KathleenLights. Milk Makeup has good relationships with many influencers and have had many positive reviews from the online beauty community. Influencers like Gabriel Zamora, who has over 850,000 subscribers on YouTube, and Nikita Dragun, who has almost 2 million subscribers, have showed extreme support for Milk Makeup. Both Gabriel, as a gay Latino man, and Nikita, as an Asian trans woman, would fit with Milk’s value of inclusivity. Partnering with either of these influencers would be a great opportunity to reach more of their followers while maintaining their inclusive, gender-fluid brand.
- Nicol Concilio, who has almost 850,000 subscribers, would be another great option for an influencer partnership. She fits with the classic Milk Makeup consumer as a young, professional woman who is always on the go. Her followers also fit the style of the more traditional beauty interested followers so she would easily reach that demographic for Milk. Zoe Sugg would be a great influencer to partner with after an international expansion. Zoe is a popular British YouTuber with almost 5 million subscribers. Breaking into the mainstream international market who do not keep up with American trends could be difficult. Partnering with an extremely successful British beauty influencer like Zoe could help with gaining international customers.
- Works Cited Collins, A. (2017, January 9). Main Post Partners invests in Milk Makeup, plans expansion. Retrieved from http://www.mainpostpartners.com/main-post-partners-invests-milk-makeup-plans-expansion/ Copp, L. T. (2018, June 19). Milk Makeup achieves 100% growth in first year and reveals best sellers. Retrieved from https://www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/Milk_Makeup_achieves_100_growth_in_first_year_and _reveals_best_sellers/144156 Fernandez, C. (2018, May 17). Inside Glossier's international expansion strategy. Retrieved from https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/inside-glossiers-international-expansion-strategy Hoshikawa, K. (2018, June 01). Milk Makeup wants you to celebrate Pride with so much glitter. Retrieved from https://www.teenvogue.com/story/milk-makeup-glitter-pride-2018-campaign Mansson, E. (2018, November 14). Want to get your hands on the James Charles x Morphe palette? Too bad. It sold out in less than 10 minutes. Retrieved from https://www.thetalko.com/james-charles-x-morphe-palette-sold-out-less-than-10-minutes/ Milk Makeup. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.milkmakeup.com/about-us.html Phelan, H. (2016, November 01). Inside Milk Makeup's formula for success. Retrieved from https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/inside-milk-makeups-formula-for-success Reader, R. (2017, April 18). Milk Makeup jumps into the crowded market of edgy cosmetics brands. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3063244/milk-makeup-jumps-into-the-crowded-market-of-edgy-cosmetics-brands Roberts Rassi, Z. (2016, February 02). By the hour: Behind the scenes at Milk Makeup's launch -party. Retrieved from https://www.eonline.com/news/736092/behind-the-scenes-at-milk-makeup-s-launch-party-with-zoe-kravitz- jaden-smith-more Saltzman, S. (2017, January 10). Milk Makeup will expand its line and its retail presence in 2017. Retrieved from https://fashionista.com/2017/01/milk-makeup-investment-2017 Swartz, A. (2015, December 15). Kylie Jenner's Lip Kit sold out in minutes again - and fans aren't pleased. Retrieved from https://mic.com/articles/130424/kylie-jenner-s-lip-kit-was-sold-out-in-minutes-again-and-fans-aren-t- pleased#.S5gmFHgEn Thomas, E. (2018, March 23). How Ulta is resetting the mass beauty shopping experience. Retrieved from https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/ulta-mass-beauty-shopping-experience-1202636925/ Vera, O. (2017, November 01). Authenticity matters: How Milk Makeup built a brand on culture. Retrieved from https://www.adlibbing.org/2017/11/03/authenticity-matters-milk-makeup-built-brand-culture/ Waits, K. (2010, December 15). Retail markup on common items. Retrieved from https://www.wisebread.com/cheat-sheet- retail-markup-on-common-items Weiss, S. (2017, March 7). The important message behind this Milk Makeup campaign. Retrieved from https://www.refinery29.com/2017/03/144033/milk-makeup-blur-the-lines-campaign Wischhover, C. (2016, February 08). Milk launches a makeup line for cool girls who are time-crunched. Retrieved from https://fashionista.com/2016/02/milk-makeup Wischhover, C. (2017, March 02). Is Milk Makeup as good as its marketing? Retrieved from https://www.racked.com/2017/3/2/14750964/milk-makeup-review