After Its Sales Soared 250% Digitally, BioClarity Takes To Stores With A Launch At Urban Outfitters

BioClarity is bounding into Urban Outfitters on a course to ban blemishes with its green goop.

The apparel and lifestyle retailer represents the plant-based skincare brand’s first brick-and-mortar partnership after two years sticking to a direct-to-consumer model to sell its benzoyl peroxide-free products centered on the chlorophyll-derived ingredient Floralux. BioClarity is launching online at Urban Outfitters as well as a total of six locations in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles with its Cleanse, Treat, Restore and Hydrate offerings.

“As I think about retail, it’s not a race to see how many shelves we can be slotted on right away. It’s about how we can ensure our brand is being supported by partners and where our target customer is going to excited that we are there,” says Rick Sliter, CEO of BioClarity parent company and e-commerce specialist Adigica Health Inc. “The early buzz from customers around Urban Outfitters is pretty exciting. It reinforces a lot of the brand credibility that we have built.”

Urban Outfitters and BioClarity share a millennial and gen z audience. Silter divulges 85% of BioClarity’s product purchasers are the users of its products, suggesting the buyers are mostly teens, tweens and young adults rather than their parents, who make up the remainder of BioClarity’s purchaser pool. For its customers, BioClarity’s approachable product prices ranging from $9.95 to $32.95, clean ingredients and results (the brand presents data from a clinical study on its website showing 77% of users noticed clearer skin after eight weeks) have proven to be a powerful recipe for revenues.

“As I think about retail, it’s not a race to see how many shelves we can be slotted on right away. It’s about how we can ensure our brand is being supported by partners and where our target customer is going to excited that we are there.”

On Amazon and via its own digital platform, BioClarity’s sales soared 250% last year driven by its original release, a three-step regimen consisting of the gentle cleanser Cleanse, exfoliator Treat and nutrient-packed gel Restore, and the addition of lightweight moisturizer Hydrate. This year, the brand has so far unleashed five products – Clarifying Masque, Hydrating Mask, Sudsy, Beauty Boost and Garden Glow Mini Set – and Zen Ultracalming Serum is on tap. Six stockkeeping units are expected to join the assortment in the initial three quarters of 2019.

“We are deepening the length and quality of the relationship with our customers as we have expanded our product line. A paramount focus for us is to make sure we have solutions for what people are requesting, all with a focus on better-for-you ingredients,” says Silter. “Product expansion the right way is a huge test for us moving forward. We think we are on the cusp of really being able to expand the reach of our brand.”

To date, BioClarity has wielded social media to help expand its reach. Silter divulges that the number of customers coming to BioClarity without a direct marketing push from the brand has surged 400% from a year ago. To spread word of mouth, he points out user-generated content has been important to BioClarity customers gravitating to real-life tales of product success rather than marketing missives. Educational posts and videos have been critical to propel customer interaction, too. BioClarity’s site includes an in-depth Guide To Clear Skin delving into acne causes and treatments.

“We are going to take our footprint, and actively engage and promote our retail relationship. We don’t want to have products on selves and hope they move. We’re willing to put in promotional dollars toward making sure people are aware of our expansion.”

Adigica Health introduced BioClarity in August 2016 to counter frequent consumer complaints about the side effects, especially itchiness, redness and dryness, of many over-the-counter acne treatments. Its proprietary compound Floralux encapsulated with a liposomal delivery system is designed to diminish those side effects while balancing the skin. Although BioClarity doesn’t contain benzoyl peroxide, it does feature the well-known acne fighter salicylic acid.

As it extends into physical locations, BioClarity will continue to harness its digital prowess. The brand is considering geotargeting initiatives zeroing in on its customers by zip code to identify those near the Urban Outfitters stores carrying its products to inform them it has arrived at those stores. The brand may also advertise to residents in the cities where it will be in Urban Outfitters stores who’ve taken action on its Instagram account.

“We are going to take our footprint, and actively engage and promote our retail relationship. We don’t want to have products on selves and hope they move,” says Silter. “We’re willing to put in promotional dollars toward making sure people are aware of our expansion.”

With BioClarity’s entrance into Urban Outfitters, Silter is going to be watching closely whether traditional retail shifts the brand’s ordering patterns. “More than anything, we are going to be looking for consumer feedback,” he says. “If some of our products have a high velocity versus others, what does that tell us about our storytelling online versus at retail? The primary thing we want to do is hear from our customers about what they like.”