Marie Redding, associate editor08.31.15
the first-ever Indie Beauty Expo, on August 27th, 2015. So it was no surprise that Cosmetic Executive Women chose the topic at a recent Newsmaker Forum, “Beauty Disruptors: Indies” moderated by CEW chairwoman Jill Scalamandre, Coty’s chief marketing officer for skin care and senior vice president, Philosophy USA.
The founders of three innovative indie brands - Tula, Skin Inc. and Nudestix - discussed their inspirations, and the challenges of building a brand in the ultra-competitive beauty industry. Before the discussion moderated by Scalamandre began, Vennette Ho, managing director at Financo, spoke about why “today’s indies are tomorrow’s powerhouses," referring to a few of the recent indie acquisitions by major players in the beauty business.
Pictured above, from left to right, are: Jenny Frankel, founder & president of Nudestix; Sabrina Tan, founder, Skin Inc, Skin Supplement Bar; Vennette Ho, managing director at Financo; and Dr. Roshini Raj, founder, Tula. (Photo by Patricia Willis Photography)
Each of the featured brands, and founders, have managed to identify a consumer need that wasn’t being met to accomplish what indie brands often excel at - delivering “newness.”
Since it takes a lot more than having an innovative product for a small brand to go up against the “Estee Lauders” of the world, Scalamandre asked how each is managing to compete. Not surprisingly, social media is giving many indie brands an edge. They know how to use it to their advantage. (See the slideshow, These Indie Brands Are the Best at Social Media.)
Here’s what the founders of Nudestix, Tula and Skin Inc. said about how they found their niche in the beauty business.
Nudestix is ‘Modernizing’ Cosmetics, in Both Form and Function
Jenny Frankel, founder of Nudestix, said she realized what the beauty industry was missing when she looked at her teenage daughters' makeup routine, and the brands they were following on social media. Frankel’s daughters, Ally and Taylor, inspired everything about Nudestix, from the products to the packaging. Now, they work alongside their mom.
Nudestix is a line of color cosmetics - all in crayons, pencils and pens - for the eyes lips and face. The brand launched in 2014, and won first place in CEW’s 2015 Beauty Awards in the Indie category.
Frankel explains, “I saw how other beauty brands weren’t speaking to my daughters - the digital generation. They don’t like coverage or color, they can’t be bothered. They needed less product, that takes less time.” So she set out to create makeup that would be “fun, easy, effortless and look imperfect.”
Frankel was ready to take on the challenge of building a new brand - again. She had already co-created Cover FX, before selling a majority stake to private equity investors. Prior to this, she worked as a cosmetic chemical engineer in product development at MAC Cosmetics.
Everything about the design of Nudestix’s crayons, and their packaging, adds to their ease of use. They “uncomplicate” the process of applying makeup. Applicators aren’t necessary - smudge the color with your fingers. A sharpener is always readily available on the crayon’s cap, as well as a mirror, which is attached to the tin case that every crayon comes packaged in.
Looking at Ally and Taylor’s social media habits, Frankel planned a marketing strategy knowing that engaging with Millennials online would be crucial to Nudestix’ success. “Everything they know is from who they are following, and that includes beauty and lifestyle brands. But if they don’t follow you, they have no idea what you are doing - as a brand. And if they can’t relate to you, they will ignore you.”
Ally and Taylor are now in charge of managing Nudestix’ social media accounts, acting as the brand’s online “personality,” in addition to modeling their makeup looks. Frankel explains, “Social media is key for our demographic - but Facebook isn’t a top driver. Instagram is our biggest platform,” she said, adding, “We don’t even do internal communications anymore - we use Twitter.”
Frankel quickly realized that Nudestix wasn’t only appealing to Millennials. It's also for busy moms, and modern women who are defining beauty differently today. Retailers have also taken notice. The brand is available in select Sephora, Space NK and Urban Outfitters stores, and internationally at several specialty e-tailers. It’s also sold on the brand’s website, at beautylish and Sephora.com.
Skin Inc.’s Colorful, All-in-One Custom Serums
Sabrina Tan’s goal was to simplify a women’s skin care routine when she co-founded Skin Inc. - plus, she was hoping to create products that wouldn’t irritate her own eczema prone skin. So she created the world’s first Customized Serum Bar.
Tan explained how every other skin care brand markets products that offer just one major benefit, whether it is moisturizing or anti-aging, for instance. So it’s not unusual for a twice-daily skin care routine to include 10 different products. “We don’t have time to use so many products,” Tan says. “But we still want something that works - instantly,” she adds.
So, why not not come up with a way to formulate one serum that would deliver a combination of benefits? Tan knew that in order to make sure a serum would be effective for all women with different skin types and issues, it had to be customizable.
“I wanted to outsmart skin care,” Tan said. “…one product to address every concern."
Tan also pointed out that where you live, due to the weather and pollution levels, which changes with the seasons, indicates which type of product your skin needs at that time.
Tan created a “My Skin Identity” online questionnaire, and your answers reveal which of the 9 "My Daily Dose" serums are best for your skin type. Each contains a single active ingredient, such as Coenzyme Q10 to promote firmer skin. The actives are encapsulated in seaweed capsules, which are suspended in a paraben-free solution, which gives the clear bottles a high-tech look. The stabilized ingredients are released directly on the skin during application.
The consumer chooses one of Skin Inc.’s vibrantly colored opaque eyedropper bottles, and decides which three serums to custom blend from the 84 different combinations that exist. Each bottle comes with a personalized hangtag.
Tan’s background as an IT pro has been an essential part of Skin Inc.’s customization process, since digital technology is used to calibrate the formulation for each personalized serum.
From its humble beginnings in 2007 with one small boutique in Singapore, Skin Inc. is now sold in more than 60 cities, worldwide, including select Sephora stores. The brand has also formed retail partnerships with several airlines and a boutique hotel chain.
TULA’s Probiotic-Based Skin Care Products
Develop an innovative formulation using an unexpected ingredient - and it’s one sure way to get noticed in the competitive beauty market. This is what Dr. Roshini Rajapaksa, a.k.a. Dr. Raj, did when she launched Tula skincare. Dr. Raj co-founded the brand in 2014, along with investors Ken Landis (who also co-founded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics) and Dan Reich.
Tula’s patented formulations are based on its proprietary probiotic technology. The skin care products claim to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, smooth and hydrate skin, and fight free radical attack.
Dr. Raj is a board certified gastroenterologist - and notes this on Tula’s packaging by highlighting it on the cartons. She also works as attending physician/assistant professor at NYU Medical Center, and is medical editor of Health magazine. “Speaking to my patients, I realized the connection between inner health and outer beauty,” Dr. Raj explained. “How we look is so greatly affected by our diet,” she added.
Dr. Raj’s goal was to develop an innovative skin care line based on science that she knew would be effective - and was the first to market a probiotic skin care product for topical use. “It is such a new concept, even in dermatology,” Dr. Raj explained. “Now, there are several recent studies that link probiotics to skin benefits, and there is more interest in how it works.”
The name Tula means “balance” in Sanskrit. “We all live very busy and complicated lives - but it's truly essential to find time for ourselves,” said Dr. Raj. “This is what motivated me to start Tula. This product line is all about helping women achieve true balance,” she said.
Tula is sold on QVC, which has been great exposure for the brand - and an ideal way for Dr. Raj to explain to consumers the innovation behind its probiotic formulations.
The packaging looks modern, and pretty enough to display. The cleansers, creams and lotions are in packaged in jars, airless bottles and tubes in blue, which some bloggers have called “Tiffany blue,” with sleek matte silver caps.
Tula doesn’t have a large social media following yet, which is an exception to the generalization that indie brands are typically pros in the online world. But, Dr. Raj fully understands the value of working with the media. Since before Tula launched, she has been a regular on-air contributor to the Today show and Good Day NY, and is frequently asked for comments for articles as women’s health expert. Part of Dr. Raj’s marketing strategy to promote Tula is to leverage these relationships with the media, in an effort to continue to explain the connection between probiotics and skin health.
Dr. Raj’s mission is to curate products that promote “wellness” from a science-based perspective - and to turn Tula into \a global lifestyle brand.
Working the Social Media Angle
See why brands like Skin Inc. and Nudestix are doing so well on social media, how they rank against the indie brands with the most online followers - and the advice from an expert about how a brand should navigate the world of beauty bloggers and social media in our upcoming story - stay tuned.
One hot topic in the beauty industry lately is the growing popularity of Indie brands. There was even a new event this year - The founders of three innovative indie brands - Tula, Skin Inc. and Nudestix - discussed their inspirations, and the challenges of building a brand in the ultra-competitive beauty industry. Before the discussion moderated by Scalamandre began, Vennette Ho, managing director at Financo, spoke about why “today’s indies are tomorrow’s powerhouses," referring to a few of the recent indie acquisitions by major players in the beauty business.
Pictured above, from left to right, are: Jenny Frankel, founder & president of Nudestix; Sabrina Tan, founder, Skin Inc, Skin Supplement Bar; Vennette Ho, managing director at Financo; and Dr. Roshini Raj, founder, Tula. (Photo by Patricia Willis Photography)
Each of the featured brands, and founders, have managed to identify a consumer need that wasn’t being met to accomplish what indie brands often excel at - delivering “newness.”
Since it takes a lot more than having an innovative product for a small brand to go up against the “Estee Lauders” of the world, Scalamandre asked how each is managing to compete. Not surprisingly, social media is giving many indie brands an edge. They know how to use it to their advantage. (See the slideshow, These Indie Brands Are the Best at Social Media.)
Here’s what the founders of Nudestix, Tula and Skin Inc. said about how they found their niche in the beauty business.
Nudestix is ‘Modernizing’ Cosmetics, in Both Form and Function
Jenny Frankel, founder of Nudestix, said she realized what the beauty industry was missing when she looked at her teenage daughters' makeup routine, and the brands they were following on social media. Frankel’s daughters, Ally and Taylor, inspired everything about Nudestix, from the products to the packaging. Now, they work alongside their mom.
Nudestix is a line of color cosmetics - all in crayons, pencils and pens - for the eyes lips and face. The brand launched in 2014, and won first place in CEW’s 2015 Beauty Awards in the Indie category.
Frankel explains, “I saw how other beauty brands weren’t speaking to my daughters - the digital generation. They don’t like coverage or color, they can’t be bothered. They needed less product, that takes less time.” So she set out to create makeup that would be “fun, easy, effortless and look imperfect.”
Frankel was ready to take on the challenge of building a new brand - again. She had already co-created Cover FX, before selling a majority stake to private equity investors. Prior to this, she worked as a cosmetic chemical engineer in product development at MAC Cosmetics.
Everything about the design of Nudestix’s crayons, and their packaging, adds to their ease of use. They “uncomplicate” the process of applying makeup. Applicators aren’t necessary - smudge the color with your fingers. A sharpener is always readily available on the crayon’s cap, as well as a mirror, which is attached to the tin case that every crayon comes packaged in.
Looking at Ally and Taylor’s social media habits, Frankel planned a marketing strategy knowing that engaging with Millennials online would be crucial to Nudestix’ success. “Everything they know is from who they are following, and that includes beauty and lifestyle brands. But if they don’t follow you, they have no idea what you are doing - as a brand. And if they can’t relate to you, they will ignore you.”
Ally and Taylor are now in charge of managing Nudestix’ social media accounts, acting as the brand’s online “personality,” in addition to modeling their makeup looks. Frankel explains, “Social media is key for our demographic - but Facebook isn’t a top driver. Instagram is our biggest platform,” she said, adding, “We don’t even do internal communications anymore - we use Twitter.”
Frankel quickly realized that Nudestix wasn’t only appealing to Millennials. It's also for busy moms, and modern women who are defining beauty differently today. Retailers have also taken notice. The brand is available in select Sephora, Space NK and Urban Outfitters stores, and internationally at several specialty e-tailers. It’s also sold on the brand’s website, at beautylish and Sephora.com.
Skin Inc.’s Colorful, All-in-One Custom Serums
Sabrina Tan’s goal was to simplify a women’s skin care routine when she co-founded Skin Inc. - plus, she was hoping to create products that wouldn’t irritate her own eczema prone skin. So she created the world’s first Customized Serum Bar.
Tan explained how every other skin care brand markets products that offer just one major benefit, whether it is moisturizing or anti-aging, for instance. So it’s not unusual for a twice-daily skin care routine to include 10 different products. “We don’t have time to use so many products,” Tan says. “But we still want something that works - instantly,” she adds.
So, why not not come up with a way to formulate one serum that would deliver a combination of benefits? Tan knew that in order to make sure a serum would be effective for all women with different skin types and issues, it had to be customizable.
“I wanted to outsmart skin care,” Tan said. “…one product to address every concern."
Tan also pointed out that where you live, due to the weather and pollution levels, which changes with the seasons, indicates which type of product your skin needs at that time.
Tan created a “My Skin Identity” online questionnaire, and your answers reveal which of the 9 "My Daily Dose" serums are best for your skin type. Each contains a single active ingredient, such as Coenzyme Q10 to promote firmer skin. The actives are encapsulated in seaweed capsules, which are suspended in a paraben-free solution, which gives the clear bottles a high-tech look. The stabilized ingredients are released directly on the skin during application.
The consumer chooses one of Skin Inc.’s vibrantly colored opaque eyedropper bottles, and decides which three serums to custom blend from the 84 different combinations that exist. Each bottle comes with a personalized hangtag.
Tan’s background as an IT pro has been an essential part of Skin Inc.’s customization process, since digital technology is used to calibrate the formulation for each personalized serum.
From its humble beginnings in 2007 with one small boutique in Singapore, Skin Inc. is now sold in more than 60 cities, worldwide, including select Sephora stores. The brand has also formed retail partnerships with several airlines and a boutique hotel chain.
TULA’s Probiotic-Based Skin Care Products
Develop an innovative formulation using an unexpected ingredient - and it’s one sure way to get noticed in the competitive beauty market. This is what Dr. Roshini Rajapaksa, a.k.a. Dr. Raj, did when she launched Tula skincare. Dr. Raj co-founded the brand in 2014, along with investors Ken Landis (who also co-founded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics) and Dan Reich.
Tula’s patented formulations are based on its proprietary probiotic technology. The skin care products claim to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, smooth and hydrate skin, and fight free radical attack.
Dr. Raj is a board certified gastroenterologist - and notes this on Tula’s packaging by highlighting it on the cartons. She also works as attending physician/assistant professor at NYU Medical Center, and is medical editor of Health magazine. “Speaking to my patients, I realized the connection between inner health and outer beauty,” Dr. Raj explained. “How we look is so greatly affected by our diet,” she added.
Dr. Raj’s goal was to develop an innovative skin care line based on science that she knew would be effective - and was the first to market a probiotic skin care product for topical use. “It is such a new concept, even in dermatology,” Dr. Raj explained. “Now, there are several recent studies that link probiotics to skin benefits, and there is more interest in how it works.”
The name Tula means “balance” in Sanskrit. “We all live very busy and complicated lives - but it's truly essential to find time for ourselves,” said Dr. Raj. “This is what motivated me to start Tula. This product line is all about helping women achieve true balance,” she said.
Tula is sold on QVC, which has been great exposure for the brand - and an ideal way for Dr. Raj to explain to consumers the innovation behind its probiotic formulations.
The packaging looks modern, and pretty enough to display. The cleansers, creams and lotions are in packaged in jars, airless bottles and tubes in blue, which some bloggers have called “Tiffany blue,” with sleek matte silver caps.
Tula doesn’t have a large social media following yet, which is an exception to the generalization that indie brands are typically pros in the online world. But, Dr. Raj fully understands the value of working with the media. Since before Tula launched, she has been a regular on-air contributor to the Today show and Good Day NY, and is frequently asked for comments for articles as women’s health expert. Part of Dr. Raj’s marketing strategy to promote Tula is to leverage these relationships with the media, in an effort to continue to explain the connection between probiotics and skin health.
Dr. Raj’s mission is to curate products that promote “wellness” from a science-based perspective - and to turn Tula into \a global lifestyle brand.
Working the Social Media Angle
See why brands like Skin Inc. and Nudestix are doing so well on social media, how they rank against the indie brands with the most online followers - and the advice from an expert about how a brand should navigate the world of beauty bloggers and social media in our upcoming story - stay tuned.