Contrary to popular belief, being in Vogue isn’t the only route to fame and fortune for a new beauty brand. In fact, it may not even help much.
In the world of 2020, with online shopping and planet-friendly brands on the rise and actual influencers and stores on the decline, the manual for building a brilliant beauty business has changed.
We spoke to three beauty startups from the Google for Startups program – afro hair care brand Afrocenchix, men’s hair loss subscription service NewFade, and organic cosmetics company Kadalys – to find out what they are doing. learned about conquering the more than 500 billion dollar global beauty market.
1. Being supplied by large retailers is not the ultimate solution
Most beauty startups face a conundrum at some point: to focus on brick-and-mortar retail or direct-to-consumer sales?
This year, they didn’t really have a choice.
When the UK closed earlier this year, all black hair shops closed – and customers had no choice but to shop online. This triggered a big change in consumption, explains Rachael Corson, co-founder of Afrocenchix.
“Our hockey stick sales have increased,” she said, adding that by the end of 2020, 90 to 95 percent of Afrocenchix sales were online. “We don’t need to work [with retailers]. “
Kadalys has experienced the same shift towards electronic commerce. This year, 70% of its turnover was achieved through online sales, says founder Shirley Billot.
“You can grow faster and benefit from economies of scale [working with high-streeet retailers]. “
Under normal circumstances, there are of course advantages to stocking your products at high street retailers. “You can grow faster and benefit from economies of scale,” says Corson. “You are also able to forecast sales quite well, but you are at the mercy of the retailers. There are no one-on-one interactions with your customers, you can’t control the customer experience, and you can’t collect data.
For businesses focused on black women, Corson adds, customer service is even more important. Most beauty companies have ignored the needs of black women, especially when it comes to hair care, she says; it is important for Afrocechix to show its customers how different it is.
2. There are many ways to discover a new brand
Offline retailing is also a great way for people to learn about your brand, but it’s not the only one.
“People need to see the products in real life, to see the texture,” says Billot, whose products are stocked by retailers across Europe and Asia.
That said, it is also possible to introduce your products to new customers online, with a little hard work.
“It’s important to have a lot of content online and to share as much information as possible with the consumer,” says Billot: Kadalys describes the scent and texture of its creams, for example, so that customers can grasp the details that they would normally notice in person. It also clearly explains the benefits provided by the products, as well as the results that customers can expect.
“Free shipping and free returns are increasingly important in increasing the number of online sales. “
Kadalys also sells a sample kit, so customers can try out a range of its products – and adds plenty of samples to its online orders, which get free shipping over a certain basket size. “Free delivery and returns are increasingly important in increasing the number of online sales,” adds Billot. In addition, Kadalys works with beauty sets to further expand the range of new potential customers who cross paths with the brand.
3. Word of mouth is huge
When your customers start referring other people to your brand, you know you’ve reached gold, says Corson.
“Word of mouth means you’re in line with the product market,” she says.
Once there, it’s worth setting up a referral program. Afrocechix has a friend referral program on their website that has been running for years. “It’s still our best performing campaign,” says Corson.
NewFade, a one-year subscription service for men with hair loss, sees another kind of referral.
“Men were referred to us by women,” says co-founder and CEO Joel Akwenuke, a doctor who founded the company after suffering hair loss while studying medicine. “It was not something we had planned.”
Akwenuke believes that because hair loss is a sensitive issue for many men, NewFade’s service is more likely to be discussed among family and close friends than to be broadcast more widely. These recommendations seem to work though; NewFade has seen 1,000 men sign up for its service, which costs an average of £ 115 per month, over the past three months.
4. Not all influencers are created equal
A few years ago, the mania for influencers started. Now their star is starting to fade.
Influencers aren’t the easy route to wealth, Corson says. “Influencers can be influential, but engagement with them decreases. Consumers know the deal now – and they’re not that easily sold.
“It all depends on the countryside,” says Corson. In June, Afrocenchix launched its first major Instagram influencer campaign to promote the launch of a new styling product for women who wear wigs. For this, the team worked with a great influencer and managed to reach a new and highly targeted audience.
“If you treat influencers like slot machines, you will be very disappointed.
Working with any former influencer wouldn’t have had the same impact, she says, “If you treat influencers like slots, you’ll be very disappointed.
NewFade has taken a slightly different approach to social media. “We’re finding that things like content marketing, with simple Instagram posts and stories work really well,” says Akwenuke.
“What’s been especially interesting is teaming up and using meme culture pages on Instagram and seeing the explosive growth that comes with leveraging their followers when sharing what we do. . ”
5. Media coverage is not a quick fix
Landing an article in a leading national newspaper or magazine also feels like it should be a winner, but it doesn’t always happen.
“The press is important in getting your name known,” says Corson, who has appeared in Vogue, The Guardian and The Independent. “But it’s not a silver bullet that definitely leads to sales.”
Having said that, sometimes a feature can really take off.
In September, NewFade arrived on the BBC. “The BBC Business feature was important to us and helped not only to drive demand but also to raise awareness and talk about male hair loss as a problem,” Akwenuke says.
6. It pays to produce your own content
Media coverage can give a brand credibility, but so can its own content, if produced thoughtfully.
If you search for “afro hair,” the Afrocenchix website should appear on the first or second page of Google. The team writes guides (“9 Tips for Healthy Hair Growth”; “The Ultimate Guide to Swimming with Natural Hair”), blog posts (“5 Reasons to Stop Relaxing Hair Today ‘) And creates videos (‘ 3 Quick and Easy Hairstyles for Afro Hair ‘) on topics their target clients are likely to be looking for. If done right, this content makes it much harder for other brands to steal your top spot on the internet.
“The content gives you a bit of a defensible gap.”
“The content gives you a bit of a defensible gap,” Corson explains. “We have increased our content since the lockdown; YouTube is making a huge difference.
7. Customers care about what you stand for
Kadalys is an organic and sustainably produced brand, and as such has a whole range of eco-brands and logos. Until recently, however, says Billot, it wasn’t much of a selling point.
“A few years ago there was no interest in it, but now – especially with Covid – I think consumers are more engaged. Gen Z are very concerned about what happens to the climate, and they want their purchases to make sense. “
“Gen Z are very concerned about what happens to the climate, and they want their purchases to make sense. “
In turn, this influences retailers, she says, “Consumers have changed the way retailers select brands. ”
8. Put yourself at the forefront of the business
Consumers also like to know the history of a business.
This year, Corson and his co-founder Jocelyn Mate have, encouraged by their team, also become more visibly connected to their brand. “None of us wanted to be the face of Afrocenchix,” says Corson, but since the lockdowns started, she has been more actively involved in hosting Instagram lives and webinars with clients. “Actively helping people like this leads to increased sales,” she says.
For NewFade, telling the story of the founders helped build trust around a new and unfamiliar service. “Being at the forefront of the business has helped us,” Akwenuke says. “There is naturally a level of trust associated with something created by doctors and pharmacists. ”
These startups participated in the Google for Startups Immersion: Black Founders program in 2020. Find out more in the Google directory for startups 2020.
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