1. MERCHANDISING INSIGHTS BEAUTY
30 Chain Drug Review/June 15, 2015
Exclusive, niche brands loom large in beauty mix
By Laureen Schroeder,
Daymon Worldwide
The year 2014 will be re-
membered as one of discovery
about the power of niche and
exclusive beauty brands at re-
tailers in the United States, and
that momentum will increase
well into the future.
Global retailers long ago rec-
ognized the potential for creat-
ing differentiation and loyalty
with consumers through their
own brands. The potential for
higher margins while offering
their consumers better value
creates a win-win situation. In
beauty, many consumers view
the national brand equivalent
as a valuable option. How-
ever, there are many beauty
consumers who also want the
latest innovation at an afford-
able price, and this is the white
space that niche and exclusive
beauty brands fill.
As retailers increase their
exclusive beauty brand devel-
opment, they use a number of
strategies globally, including
utilization of an internation-
ally proven performer, line ex-
tension or restage of a beauty
brand into current categories,
extension of a beauty brand
into new categories, building an
exclusive beauty brand on an
ingredient trend, mainstream-
ing prestige beauty brands as
a portfolio to reach diversified
beauty consumers, and support
with influencer marketing.
Using an internationally
proven performer
Walgreens began 2014 by
launching the Boots No7
brand in all its flagship stores
and extended the Boots
brands throughout the year
into additional formats. Taking
best-practice examples from
the Alliance Boots playbook,
the Boots No7 brand was
launched with full merchan-
dising and beauty adviser sup-
port. While Boots brands are
not exclusive to Walgreens,
the brands will be executed
in-store with exclusive mar-
keting support.
Line extension into
current categories
CVS continues to support its
Nuance proprietary brand with
23 innovative line extensions
in its current categories of hair
care and skin care. These new
products provide an opportu-
nity for new beauty consumers
to discover the brand and for
current users to try new for-
mulations. Each new item has
a natural ingredient that drives
the reason to believe. In addi-
tion, there is a marketing com-
munication focus on the over-
all natural ingredients story.
Permanent displays have been
seen in-store, as well as place-
ment on the shelf by category.
Essence of Beauty, another
CVS proprietary beauty brand,
was restaged in late 2013 with
new packaging, on-trend com-
plex fragrances and a new
marketing campaign. This
beauty brand has been a suc-
cessful, affordable bath and
body brand that originally of-
fered consumers an alterna-
tive to the more expensive
Bath and Body Works type of
products. In the fall, the brand
was further extended to a full
aromatherapy line. Like the
aromatherapy line in Bath and
Body Works, the Essence of
Beauty line extension comes in
three scent collections (Lemon
Verbena, Lavender and Eu-
calyptus), with seven SKUs in
each collection.
Extension into
new categories
Target has been an innovator
in the beauty space, willing to
try new beauty brands and con-
cepts. Target’s first and longest-
standing designer/collaborator,
Sonia Kashuk, who joined Tar-
get in 1999, has formed a suc-
cessful makeup artist brand and
expanded the line in November
2013, with full launch support
in 2014. The 24-SKU bath and
body collection features body
butter, hand creme, shower gel
and perfume and comes in four
scents: Red Promisia, Purple Se-
ductia, Pink Innocencia and Yel-
low Alluriana. The line ranges
in price from $4.99 to $19.99 for
an eau de toilette.
Drew Barrymore’s Walmart-
exclusive Flower brand con-
tinued to expand in 2014 with
line extensions in fragrance
and cosmetics bags. In October
2014 the Flower collection ex-
panded in-store and online with
three fragrances. The selected
scents — Cherished, Radiant
and Sultry — are described as
a combination of “scents that
capture the joy of life and love,
in all of its meanings,” which
coincides with Barrymore’s pos-
itive approach to beauty. Beau-
tiful fragrance gift sets were
specially curated for the holiday
season and included matching
cosmetics bags for shoppers
seeking gifts.
Building on ingredient trends
Argan oil is one of the hottest
ingredient trends in beauty.
A global trend that started in
the prestige beauty class of
trade with the Moroccan Oil
salon brand has exploded into
brands, line extensions and
new products. Launched exclu-
sively at Rite Aid in June, the
Oil Essentials brand from Emil-
ia Personal Care is a total solu-
tion product line of six luxuri-
ous multipurpose beauty oils
for hair, face and body. Made
with natural and sustainable
blends of eco-certified essen-
tial oils and fortified with an
advanced antiaging Luxmead-
ow E Complex, the line is also
free from parabens, sulfates,
phthalates and synthetic col-
ors. This line appeals to wom-
en of all ages.
Reaching diversified
beauty consumers
In March 2014 Target once
again broke traditional barri-
ers by executing a new beauty
strategy in hopes of appealing
to its diversified guest popula-
tion. The retailer started bring-
ing in prestige beauty brands
that offered built-in awareness
and a loyal following of brand
fans, and then made them
available at Target at a more af-
fordable price point. One brand
example with an established,
cult-like following is Carol’s
Daughter. This natural beauty
brand is more than 20 years
old, and launched in stores
and online with 21 hair care
SKUs ranging in price from $9
to $15. Target will be the exclu-
sive retailer to carry the Carol’s
Daughter Sacred Tiare Collec-
tion, which is designed to stop
breakage and smooth frizz.
The collection features sulfate-
free shampoo, fortifying con-
ditioner, hair mask, leave-in
conditioner, styling cream and
smoothing serum. Products
range from $12 to $15.
Marketing support
Ongoing marketing is pivotal
for exclusive beauty brands to
drive awareness and trial to
new and current users.
Originally launched in 2012,
the b-leve beauty brand is found
in such fine grocery retailers as
Giant Eagle, Spartan, Stater
Bros., Big Y, Hy-Vee and Coborn.
In 2014 the beauty advisers at
Giant Eagle, who are true brand
advocates for the b-leve brand,
executed a successful sampling
and gift-with-purchase promo-
tion, and with its range of hair
care items, facial care items,
bath and body products, beau-
ty tools and bath accessories,
there is a lot to talk about. Beau-
ty mavens are believers of this
multi-benefit beauty brand and
continue to try new products in
the 100-SKU collection.
What’s next for retailers’
beauty offerings
What’s next for retailer beau-
ty offerings in 2015 and be-
yond? Creating convincing, dif-
ferentiated choices for beauty
consumers that go beyond be-
ing just national-brand-equiva-
lent products by offering more
innovative, premium product
attributes and technology at a
more affordable price is key to
future exclusive beauty brand
success. Significant opportuni-
ties exist for exclusive brands
that emotionally connect with
different consumer groups,
whether they are Millennials,
baby boomers or even age 70-
plus beauty consumers.
Many retailers in the United
States have started this brand
development with different
strategies. The white space for
beauty is very individual and
expands beyond a basic essen-
tial or even one specific brand.
The key for U.S. drug retailers
in particular will be to create a
destination or offer collections
of exclusive beauty brands
that meet the needs of a broad
range of women while remain-
ing meaningful and true to their
distinctive retail positioning in
the marketplace. Retailers dedi-
cated to owning and supporting
their exclusive beauty brands
with continuous innovation and
marketing support are poised
for long-term success.
Laureen Schroeder (lschroeder
@daymon.com) is the global
director of health, beauty and
baby at Daymon Worldwide.
Global retailers
saw the potential
many years ago.
Goal is to create
a destination.
Top: Walgreens Boots Alli-
ance’s No7 brand is now
sold at a growing number of
Walgreens stores in the U.S.
The brand benefits from full
beauty adviser support.
Middle: The proprietary
Nuance brand continues to
perform well in the hair and
skin care segments at CVS/
pharmacy. Twenty-three line
extensions were recently
made.
Bottom: Rite Aid recently
expanded its offering of
exclusive beauty brands with
Oil Essentials from Emilia
Personal Care.
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