Niche Beauty
How niche brands are changing the beauty landscape (III)
What are your ambitions in terms of travel retail visibility and distribution and how can you stand out in this channel?
Aesop: We are ambitious about selective and careful expansion within the channel and focused on key airport locations. We hope to stand out both from a design and product point of view. Every location we open is carefully designed and no two Aesop stores or counters are alike, our store in Zürich airport bears no resemblance to our store in Melbourne airport or our newly opened counter within Munich airport, yet all three we feel are unmistakably Aesop spaces.
Mark Brewer (Egyptian Magic) : For Egyptian Magic, we are building an infrastructure for future travel distribution and will be focusing on separate channels into duty free stores, airline and cruise. Egyptian Magic is a cult classic and holy grail product, a secret beauty must-have that’s adored by celebrities, models, make-up artists and beauty press. We continue to build on this following and communication and also the brand’s word of mouth reputation. The multi-purpose element of Egyptian Magic has huge appeal within travel retail and constantly receives outstanding reviews and positive feedback for its popular uses. So, we continue to communicate this as the go-to-product for your purse, suitcase, beach bag or make-up cabinet.
Tom Watson (Michael Malul) : We know how tough it can be to stand out in the travel retail channel. We have built this business in the US domestic market over the past few years by remaining absolutely true to our vision of uncompromising quality, unique fragrances and a consistent premium brand position. We believe our product, pricing and brand are perfect for this channel. This is borne out by the huge amount of interest we received at The Summit of the Americas trade show in Florida.
Margaret Dabbs: We are building a global presence and want to reflect this in travel retail. We want to capture consumers and meet their needs with luxurious essentials for away and every day. Margaret Dabbs London leads the industry with aspirational, effective, sought-after premium products for savvy, knowledgeable, and brand conscious customers.
The Margaret Dabbs product line-up for feet includes the spray-on Intensive Treatment Foot Oil
Frédéric Fekkai (Fekkai) : There are significant changes in the travel retail consumer themselves. Traditionally, travel retail purchases used to be more about gifting, but today, the consumer is getting younger, more eco-conscious, and discovering self-treat. The consumer has clearly articulated the demand for clean beauty and haircare and so our ambition is to meet the demand. We are working hard to build our brand awareness in social and digital media so that the Fekkai brand will be a go-to brand versus a surprise and delight discovery.
An interesting fact about Fekkai is that our products have triple the retention rate compared to other brands who are bigger in the haircare & styling category, so we know that once the consumer discovers the product, they will stay with it. With that knowledge, we are leaning into travel retail by sampling our best-selling product, Apple Cider Vinegar Scalp Scrub, into our travel kits coming this fall.
Pauline Prescott (Formulae Prescott) : The future of travel retail remains bright even through challenging times. Wellness in the travel space is becoming prominent and Formulae Prescott is already highlighted as an award-winning wellness product with our travel partners worldwide. This year we secured retailer agreements with Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, TUI, Dufry and many more.
Spectrum Beauty is adding colour to the beauty tool segment with its affordable, vibrant and vegan-friendly brushes
Sophie and Hannah Pycroft (Spectrum) : Our product stands out in terms of design in the beauty tools category. People often overlook beauty tools but having a good set of brushes makes makeup application easier. Travel retail is where we shop to treat ourselves or to buy gifts and the strong aesthetics, high quality and affordable price makes Spectrum an ideal brand to shine in the channel. Our proven success in the industry means we have big ambitions to extend this into travel retail, making us a leader in beauty tools.
Debbie Sleeman (Polished London) : We are very excited about travel retail as our products are perfect for travelling. Our best-selling teeth whitening strips, have been designed for whitening at home and on-the-go making them perfect for travel retail. We also have our toothpaste tablets which are travel-friendly and offer an innovative way to brush your teeth. Polished London stands out on the shelves as our brand is very clean-looking and aesthetically beautiful. Teeth whitening products tend to look very similar, so we definitely stand out.
Rachel Williams (Albus & Flora) : Our existing SPF product (and range to follow) is perfectly suited to travel retail and we would like to build our presence and visibility with key airlines, cruise operators, featuring within pre-trip publications/online retail and on-board/in-flight retail. The brand has proven consumer appeal within UK, EU and overseas markets including Hong Kong and we are keen to target multiple consumer groups/locations worldwide.
As a small brand we are well aware of the competitive nature of travel retail and the dominance of the big multi-national brands, but consumers want to try something new. Albus & Flora and our retail partners can capitalise on this growing interest and enthusiasm by presenting a brand & product which is perfectly suited to the needs of travellers. Our products solve a key problem and helps to educate consumers with a very clear simple message that maximises conversion. Simple messaging such as our ‘we can't stop lip ageing... but we can slow it down’ has proved very effective in capturing interest and converting to a sale with minimal friction.
Shapeaccelerator: Travellers want to have the perfect ‘beach body’ and therefore travel retail fits in our marketing approach towards the customer. Cruise lines and duty free are ideal for our customers.
Miriam Ciantar (Baroque & Rose) : Our customers know they will receive luxurious and effective skincare solutions without any toxic ingredients. We are positioned in the higher end of the market. Our vision is not only to make our customers feel and look beautiful, but to leave the smallest possible carbon footprint on our planet. This offers a win-win situation for our customers who know that while they are looking and caring after themselves, they are also looking after our planet – which I believe sets us apart.
Mark Wood (Skin Generics) : We launched in travel retail in early 2022 and have seen huge success in year one. We can clearly see the demand from customers wanting new innovative products that are generally only available in the domestic market. In 2023, we have achieved major global listings with inflight and airport retail partners and can see this growing over the next three years. We see the brand expanding to more airlines and airport retail across the UK and Europe with the long terms visibility in airports and cruise. We will replicate what we are doing in our domestic channels to clearly stand out in a crowded market by offering clear communication at shelf, implementing an amazing GWP programme and ensuring staff training for all teams selling our brand.
Albus & Flora’s lip care products are equipped with SPF and help stop lip ageing
Lee Cristou (Kroma Makeup) : Quality is more important to us than quantity, so our focus is to expand in each country's market strategically and be exclusive to airports & duty-free in certain regions.
Since there are only few natural makeup brands in the travel retail sector, we aim to showcase our collection in a transparent way that educates travellers on our naturalness. Plus, we are the only Greek-owned makeup brand and I think my heritage and relationship between art and nature sets us apart.
Mums With Love offers haircare, body care and skincare products for the whole family
Karina Lassen (Mums with Love) : Travel retail is a highly competitive space, and standing out in this channel requires a combination of many factors. We believe we can stand out by catering to the needs of busy, health-conscious travellers looking for ethical, sustainable, and pure skin- & body care products, as this is an almost untouched market.
Our partnership with Gebr. Heinemann has allowed us to leverage their extensive network and expertise, expanding our reach in airports and other travel hubs around the world. Our commitment to sustainability and transparency has resonated with these customers, making us stand out in a highly competitive market. We are now looking for strong business partnerships handling the domestic market to support our strong presence in travel retail.
Moreover, we plan to develop targeted marketing and promotional strategies for the travel retail channel, including exclusive promotions for travel retail customers and releasing travel retail-exclusive products for the whole family.
Andrew Glass (Skin Generics) : We want to grow our travel retail business immensely in 2023 and 2024 as we feel this will broaden our reach and brand awareness. Our goal is to be the go to skincare brand in travel retail. We think we're a perfect fit because we cater to literally everybody, and couples traveling can easily share our products. We believe that by focusing on our botanical-rich formulas, our eye-catching visuals and sustainability that we will surely stand out.
Edward Muller (Selvedge Grooming) : Given the compact nature and elegance of the packaging, the products lend themselves to in-flight programs, especially Ash, our Dry Shampoo product. These are supported by Wax, Balm and the classic Pomade. These lines are enhanced by Surf, the classic Sea Salt ‘Off the beach’ look. Male grooming in travel retail is a growth category where Selvedge is ideally placed with its concise range to help grow the segment.
This Works has sold nine million Pillow Sprays since its launch
Christopher Chong (Thameen London) : Hopefully our travel retail partners will see that Thameen London is brand that has tremendous potential to be a leader in the niche perfume category. Our aim is to increase our presence in the international travel market with holistic growth. We believe staying focused within our DNA of developing fine fragrances with integrity is key to standing out amongst all the other brands.
This Works: As the leading sleep, skincare and wellness brand, travel retail provides us with a natural extension to offer our customers an easy tool to improve their travelling experience especially when it comes to sleep disruptions and travel anxiety. We want to be consumers’ go-to-brand for sleep and wellness solutions and woven into their travel lifestyles in an easy and seamless way both in transit and at their destination.
Therefore, our distribution expands across both duty free and inflight channels. In duty free channels, we have completed our initial launch with Dufry in the UK, Europe, Asia and soon in South America as well as Aer Rianta International in Dublin and Harding flagships. For inflight channels, we have planned launches on six airlines in Europe from this March and will further introduce our products to airlines in Asia in the next few months.
David Herdman (Beautypro) : We want to launch our brand in all travel retail points of sale from cruise, airline, duty free and cross dorder stores, our products sit well in different categories. Beautypro create innovative multi award winning products ideally suited to the travel retail industry, our products are compact, lightweight and easy to travel with meaning you can still look after your skin while travelling.
Grown Alchemist: L’OCCITANE Group has partnered with Heinemann Australia to exclusively launched Grown Alchemist in Asia Pacific travel retail with its premiere point of sale at Sydney Airport, Terminal 1.
The new counter reflects the identity and DNA of the brand and drive awareness among affluent travellers with a strategic focus on Gen Z. The minimalist, monochrome retail design features glass and stainless-steel details balanced with a distressed concrete wall to deliver the brand’s signature fusion of urban street culture and lab chic personality. The counter offers a range of innovative skin, body, hand, and haircare products and travel kits with products to rejuvenate the body from head to toe.
The exclusive launch at Sydney Airport is the first important step towards the global roll-out of the brand. Next, L’OCCITANE Travel Retail plans to establish Grown Alchemist at other key locations such as Frankfurt, Oslo and Istanbul. In collaboration with Gebr. Heinemann, we are also responding to increased customer demand for natural products. The key is to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the brand both visually and in terms of product offer.
Grown Alchemist: Responding to increased customer demand for natural products, in collaboration with Gebr. Heinemann at Sydney and soon, other locations
Victoria Neymann (Verdilab) : We have high expectations for the travel retail channel within the coming years. We have been already approached by the main travel retailers who showed a real interest in Verdilab as a brand of the new generation. A brand that really addresses the concerns of forward-thinking consumers, including Millennials and Gen Z travellers and those of tomorrow.
Verdilab stands out from all the prestige brands in this channel bringing a new meaning to luxury skincare. We offer 100% natural and ultra-clean formulas, based on a strong scientific heritage that offers clinically-proven, visible results. I believe Verdilab will disrupt the prestige skincare category in all channels and not only travel retail.
Dimitri Weber (Goldfield & Banks) : I want to see Goldfield & Banks go far and expand into travel retail across the world. This brand represents Australia so well, and I want us to become the face of Australia globally in a similar way to how Acqua di Parma is essentially the face of Italy’s culture and perfume industry.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 323 | 5 May 2023
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com