BEYL Skincare Launches At Selfridges, Focuses On Global Strategy And Consumer Feedback for Success

Credit Pieter-Jan Beyls’ work schedule as a management consultant at A.T. Kearney’s London office for the creation of his namesake men’s skincare line, BEYL. The job had him on the move all hours of the day, all days of the week.

“I would take a flight in the morning clean and refreshed,” says Beyls, “but, when I landed in Spain, my skin felt heavy, and it was only just morning. Or I would take the underground, which is steamy, arrive in a boardroom, which is cold, go to lunch, the gym, back to the office, commute home… therein you’re facing five to seven different natural and artificial climate changes. I was always looking for a product that was equipped for my lifestyle.” 

BEYL Skincare launched last month with a rollout at Selfridges. Having secured his first major retail partnership, Beyls is doubling down by seeking a new round of financing to advance the line and invest in product innovation. “It’s my belief that in economic distress, it’s time to invest,” he says.

Beyls’ disappointment in the La Mers and La Prairies of the world to address the ravages of a fast-paced, far-traveled lifestyle on men’s skin led to a three-year development phase for his own brand. Focusing on the impact of environmental changes, Beyls dug into the market to sort out how he could create high-performance products that met the challenge of an 80-85 hour week. He considered the impacts of urban and artificial environments on the skin, including those emitted by city pollution and technology. Bundling the barrage of external factors, Beyls engaged chemists to research and formulate a men-centric, skin-supportive line.

The result is a three-SKU skincare system for men hinging on a proprietary formulation the brand calls “clima-adaptive.”  BEYL’s Anti-Pollution Moisturiser ($127) allows for adaptation to local skin environments by providing supportive foundational ingredients that foster skin stability. The idea is to protect skin in cold, dry climates without producing a greasy feel in torrid or humid conditions. The line also offers up a Purify & Refresh Cleansing Gel ($52) and Firm & Revitalise Eye Cream ($97).

Once the products were conceived, Beyls bucked the trend of a quick-to-market brand and relied on consumer feedback to determine its final evolution. “I don’t believe in a three-to-six month lead time,” Beyls asserts. “We needed high efficacy from launch and it took three years to do that. We needed to be 100% sure customers got what they wanted.” The process included doing small closed loop feedback rounds including all genders, ethnicities and skin types. The focus groups and iterative sessions covered initial samples, formula tweaks and amended packaging. At completion, more than 40 different alterations had been made to the first prototypes before hitting clinical trials. Beyls even concocted a pre-launch sensory profile—an eight-scale measuring system for each of the products—for blind testing against mass market and designer skincare competitors to get it right.

It’s my belief that in economic distress, it’s time to invest.

The legwork seems to have paid off as BEYL entered an exclusive agreement with Selfridges in the UK on August 15, ahead of its September 1 e-commerce launch. The brand is in negotiation with two online retailers who’ve yet to be announced, and aims to add one luxury department store retailer each year. Sales projections, however, aren’t on the same rosy path. “From a numbers point of view the forecast over six to nine months have been reduced 40-50% in order volumes,” says Beyls. “In absolute numbers the impact of COVID certainly is being felt.”

Beyls is determined to forge forward, regardless of how long the pandemic lasts, with plans to build out the high end segment of the market for men. “Men’s offerings are either mass market or the low end of premium,” he says. “We’re not looking for mass distribution, we are a small niche brand.” BEYL’s game plan is to enter retail partnerships with caution and expand wide, yet not deep, across the globe. Top markets to tick off are London, Paris, NYC, Shanghai, Melbourne, São Paulo and Johannesburg. “We simply aren’t trying to cover a whole market, but be exclusive in different channels,” explains Beyls. “It’s not in our ethos to just say yes to anything that presents itself.”

Beyls has the support of his investors. The brand was personally financed by Beyls for the first year and a half, but found he needed help for the pursuit of rigorous reiterations and global distribution. It came in the form of five angel investors who helped the brand retain autonomy. “It was quite important to not just accept money from anyone who wanted to give it, but to do as much due diligence on investors as they did on us,” explains the founder. “While actively supporting our journey, we also want to maintain our decision making.” While currently operating on an annual budget of nearly 250,000 pounds, BEYL will be seeking north of a million pounds in the next raise mid next year to achieve their future forecast. 

Line expansion of new products is already in the works for BEYL, along with using the existing three SKUs to create a signature treatment for travelers exclusive to spas and hotels. The founder has an eye on other considerations for the future: “There is more and more demand for makeup for men, and we’re looking into those newer categories that should no longer be stigmatized regardless of gender.”