Peach & Lily’s First-Ever Brand Campaign Lets NYC Subway Riders In On People’s Skin Secrets

In a spot for Peach & Lily’s new advertising campaign called “Beauty without Secrets,” Alicia Yoon, founder and CEO of the skincare brand, reads a letter from a fellow mother that confesses, “As happy as I was to become a mother, I felt disempowered when it came to my skin and body.” Breaking down, Yoon responds, “I can totally relate.”

People relating to other people’s skin concerns, whether they’re hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, acne or, in Yoon’s case, eczema, and discussing them honestly is the crux of the campaign, which is Peach & Lily’s first-ever major brand campaign. Images from the campaign will run on New York City subways through next month, and videos will appear on YouTube and Peach & Lily’s website starting today. Ads will extend to connected television (CTV), Facebook, Instagram and TikTok as well.

Peach & Lily recruited “real people” rather than professional models for the campaign that features, along with Yoon, five chosen for their willingness to be candid about skin concerns and on camera without makeup or retouching. Each one wrote a letter about their skin concerns that’s read in the campaign’s videos and communicated with words in its imagery.

The campaign was motivated by a 3,000-person survey of members of Peach & Lily’s community that found 80% have difficulties feeling beautiful, 86% contend with negative emotions about their skin, and 92% have a greater sense of community if they understand they’re not alone in their struggles. Its ads aim to fortify Peach & Lily’s community and raise its profile as a destination for skincare information and products that work for consumers with skin challenges previously disappointed by skincare.

“Growing up, I really struggled with my skin and not just the itchy rashes, but also the embarrassment and shame that went with them. I was so self-conscious. My skin was just so, so emotional for me,” says Yoon. “When you are hiding all your struggles and dealing with them on their own, they’re worse than they need to be. The minute you are sharing your struggles, you move from self-doubt to self-acceptance to empowerment.”

For a brand associated with “glass skin,” a term originated in South Korea that the publication Glamour explains is “used to describe skin so luminous that it could be” fashioned by glass, it could seem incongruous for Peach & Lily to execute a campaign that delves into what’s viewed as skin imperfections, but Yoon emphasizes that the campaign and glass skin aren’t incompatible.

“Glass skin is not a superficial look or an unrealistic skin ideal. Glass skin is about achieving your unique, healthiest skin, skin that’s so healthy that there’s an accompanying luminosity, smoothness and clarity,” she says. “I love glass skin because it’s for everyone. You can have acne but still have hydrated skin that glows. I have eczema, but can still have my version of skin at its healthiest.”

Peach & Lily is joining an increasing number of brands, most notably Dove with its “Campaign for Real Beauty” that dates back to 2004, opting for ads that shift away from aspirational, impeccable spokespeople to focus on fraught relationships with beauty, supposed flaws and true-to-life visuals. Yoon is all for the shift. She says, “Lets make the photos be as real as possible because it’s about skin and being real with your skin.”

Peach & Lily spent $300,000 on production of the “Beauty without Secrets” campaign and $750,000 on ad placements. Although there’s a QR code on campaign imagery that directs people to the brand’s site, it doesn’t contain product details. Yoon says she doesn’t consider “Beauty without Secrets” to be “a conversion-driving” campaign. Instead, four years following Peach & Lily’s launch, it’s intended to make a brand statement.

“The minute you are sharing your struggles, you move from self-doubt to self-acceptance to empowerment.”

“We have hit this really interesting point in the business where we are able to step back and think about who we are defined as, what we stand for and what our community believes we stand for,” says Yoon, noting maintaining community engagement is a big goal for Peach & Lily. “Our community is people who might be afraid to try active ingredients because they have had a bad experience. It’s so important we meet people where they are mentally and emotionally.”

Peach & Lily strives to develop products with active ingredients like vitamin C, niacinamide, alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta hydroxy acids (AHAs) suitable for sensitive skin. It has 20 stockkeeping units priced from $28 to $59, including bestseller Glass Skin Refining Serum. A serum is sold every three minutes.

A faction of Peach & Lily’s community was introduced to it as a K-Beauty e-commerce platform that started in 2012. It continues to carry about 15 brands outside its own. Another faction was introduced to it by its products and retail footprint. Peach & Lily is available on Amazon and across Ulta Beauty’s stores. The brand states it’s one of the fastest-growing brands at Ulta and ranks in the top 10 prestige skincare brands at the retailer.

In February 2020, Sandbridge Capital, backer of Madison Reed, U Beauty and Ilia, invested in Peach & Lily. At the time, the brand projected it would reach $100 million in sales within a few years. It divulged its sales had at least doubled yearly, and more than 65% of its revenues were from repeat purchasers. Peach Slices, an offshoot of Peach & Lily sold at Ulta, Walmart, Amazon and CVS, is poised to generate $50 million in 2022 retail sales, according to industry sources cited by publication Women’s Wear Daily.

In tandem with stoking conversations about and community around skin issues, the “Beauty without Secrets” campaign draws attention to Peach & Lily’s commitment to transparency with the objective of helping consumers to make educated skincare purchases and pushing for heightened transparency broadly in the beauty industry. The brand’s manufacturing processes adhere to good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards, and it discloses pH levels, active ingredient concentrations and the results of clinical studies.

To stoke excitement about the campaign, Peach & Lily is running a social media competition encouraging people to post when they see the ads. The brand will dole out prizes such as a chance to be on its social media channels to winners of the competition. On Wednesday, Yoon will answer questions in a TikTok Live Q&A session exploring her skin journey.

“Sometimes I feel like founders are expected to have it all together, like we don’t have our own struggles,” says Yoon. “I wanted to lead with openness.”

The “Beauty without Secrets” campaign is designed to have an impact well after its ads are replaced in New York City subways. Peach & Lily plans to upload a blog piece weekly on a skincare topic it hopes will spur community feedback. In addition, it anticipates hosting regular influencer events to breed camaraderie among influencers and restarting master classes that were paused by the pandemic to invite Peach & Lily customers to learn about skincare and the community they’re a part of.