In this edition of Beauty Independent’s ongoing series posing questions to beauty entrepreneurs, we ask 16 founders and executives: What holiday-related products are you selling? What do your products say about consumers’ holiday shopping preferences this year?
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Sue Campbell Founder, Kind2 We did a gift set that included a reclaimed wood tray for storage and positioned it as a #plasticfreeChristmas gift. It’s been a success because I think people are looking for plastic-free gifts, and there’s little available on the high street. We’re going to continue with it into the New Year because it’s a great starter kit and perfect for year-round gifting.
- Namrata Kamdar Founder, Plenaire
We have seen a real renaissance in conscious consumption with our audience. The economic and political climate here in the European Union/United Kingdom is tricky, and it seems to have had a real knock-on effect in beauty and consumer spending. I really think people want quality and to buy fewer things. Craftsmanship and customization as well as buying local are back in a big way.
For Christmas, we have done some amazing conscious and zero waste gift guides as well as an upcoming duvet queen gift guide for social which mirrors our ethos of chilled out, conscious beauty. We are planning gorgeous travel bags using deadstock vintage fabrics in the New Year.
- Kristen Bowen Founder and CEO, Living The Good Life Naturally
Scent is such a powerful connection to memories, which for us is what makes a holiday truly memorable. So, we are always looking for ways to introduce scents that take a person back to times of connection. This year, we have two magnesium-boosted bath bombs coming out that will slip you back into more relaxed times. Our consumers want fresh scents that remind them of traditions. So, we take tried-and-true products, and add a twist to the color and scent for the holidays.
- Dani Pitts Founder and CEO, Ducalm Skincare
When it comes to holidays and products in general, size matters! I say this because, while engaging in person with clients, the buzz at events has been, “I need to fly with this...” So, gone are the days of big bottles. For back bar we have them, but, for the bulk of our line and for the holidays, we have focused on our mini sizes in general and more on the last-minute deal to give customers some savings for gift time.
The holidays can be very expensive, so we feel that this is the time to give our customers and returning customers a break on price. Shop for you and for a friend and here’s our gift to you: free shipping specials and a larger percentage off on the weeks leading up to the holidays. We also believe that, for the sake of sustainability, extra bulky packaging doesn’t equate to more anymore, and small packages fit better into stockings.
- Elsa Jungman Founder and CEO, ELSI
For the holidays, we released a kit that includes our full-sized and travel-sized serum in a complimentary carrying case. There are two things we had in mind when deciding on the kit.
1. Meeting customers where they are this season. Everyone is on the go during the holidays, and they might not be partaking in their regular skincare rituals. For that reason, having the travel size on hand is helpful to maintain a sense of microbiome balance while your body is exposed to new environments. As a brand trying to create a conversation around harmony between skincare, science and overall wellness, it's important for us to pay attention to customer behavior and support them where they are rather than getting them to try complicated products or create complex routines.
2. Optional giftability. It's the season for sharing. Our kit allows customers to gift it as is, keep the full size for themselves and use the travel size as a stocking stuffer, or keep the full size at home and use the travel size while they're on the go. We don't want to tell consumers what they can do, but rather create options for them to decide on their own.
- MARIOS STAMATELOPOULO Co-Founder, Vivaiodays
Having two-thirds of our business in the baby category, we chose to work with gift sets throughout the year and especially during the holiday season. In most of those gift sets, we partner with other same-thinking brands, premium and sustainable.
Weeks after our launch in the U.S. in 2018, we had the opportunity to have our first gift set in a Goop gift guide. We did well and, this year, we launched more gift sets and made them available in six international markets and, of course, the United States. Consumers seem to love green sustainable gifting, and we love to partner with other true sustainable brands from other categories to make customers happy.
- Loraine R. Dowdy Founder and CEO, Coloured Raine Cosmetics
We are doing an accessory holiday-themed item. We wanted to focus more on accessories for the immediate release rather than taking a larger item and/or collection approach. We didn’t want the consumers to further feel overwhelmed as it’s been quite a busy year in the cosmetics industry. At least this was our approach from both perspectives, especially after we recently released a pretty large collection.
- NASIMEH YAZDANI Founder, Seaside Medical Technologies
We're changing up our top web page to holiday colors and offering our largest deals of the year for holiday sets. We feel the spending is large, and people want to shop for unique gifts for their family and friends. Indie beauty sets are expected to do very well. We are starting earlier this year as preparation for the design and implementation takes at least two to three weeks, something we had to learn from experience.
- Jan Fay Founder, Nami Naturale
Consumers are most likely to spend a little more for anything they fancy during the holidays as a way of treating themselves or their loved ones. But, at the same time, consumers these days are smarter and they are looking for value for their money. For example, imagine someone checks out your product from a store, and this is a potential sale. But this can be lost so quickly when a consumer compares your product to a similar one in the same store or gets her phone and searches for “Christmas Beauty Bargains.” I believe that the key to acquiring customers is to get their attention straight away and not allowing them to think twice about purchasing your products.
This year we are offering “Liit” to attract potential customers and give consumers an additional gift idea from our product line. “Liit” is a collection of all our products in mini versions. It will also come with a reusable cardboard tube box. It may seem like it’s not a lot, but our products are made of pure and high-performance ingredients, so a little use goes a long way. For example, we estimated that our 5-ml. Rejuvenate Face Oil will last 10 days when used during the day and night. The idea is we would like to give our potential consumers a taste of all our nourishing organic skincare products without breaking their bank. We thought it was the perfect time to launch our minis this holiday season because it can be considered as a luxury holiday gift.
For those who are looking for more special and extra luxurious gift ideas, we are offering a buy three regular-size products for the price of two all throughout the month of December. All our regular-size product comes with a tester size of our best selling products which are the Rejuvenate Face Oil and Hand and Feet Saviour.
- Kailey Bradt CEO and Founder, OWA Haircare
We partnered with emerging female-founded brands to support women and brands we believe in. This year is our first year in business, so I understand how much each purchase has an impact for a new brand. It’s changed how I’m shopping this holiday season and wanted to find a way to support the brands I love from women I believe in.
For consumers, they want to know the story behind the brand. Hosting a giveaway with these brands gave us an opportunity to share the women behind the brands and their stories with our audience.
- Tonia Walker Founder, Ime Natural Perfume
We aren't doing any new holiday products this year. Our perfume range is quite large and with a scent to match every mood and season. So, we will promote the seasonal fragrances a little more instead of bringing out something new at this time. We’re in Australia, so it’s summer now and our fresh, lively and uplifting fragrances will get more of a push than the others.
- Gabriela Salord Co-Founder and CEO, Rowse
For the holiday season, we launched a "Brightening Mask" to make at home with sustainably-sourced raw ingredients from our line: Camellia Oil, Rose Water, Pink and White Clays. The purpose of the mask is to illuminate and soften a dull Winter skin. We've developed the beauty recipe in collaboration with London's Modern Society where our British community will find a "mix and match" station to try the recipe.
From a business perspective, since our launch a year ago we've understood that consumers enjoy the creative aspect of combining their own ingredients and learning more about the plants and the places they came from. We felt the season was particularly appropriate to offer a moment of indulgence, an authentic experience using our hands to create something special for our skin.
- Peter Boyles Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Hello Eden
We decided not to do a holiday-related product. A key reason for this is that at this time of year, paid advertising multiples tenfold. With everyone competing for a similar audience's attention, the price for any paid acquisition across Social and Search increases to a point that it wouldn't be profitable even when considering the LTV of a customer.
As a small business which recently launched, we have to take particular care as to where our budget is spent and we have chosen to move our whole December budget to January instead. January typically sees a drop in acquisition costs and our consumer begins to put more consideration into their overall health as the new year begins.
- Annie Tevelin Founder, SkinOwl
This holiday season, we introduced our Best for 2019 'All The Things' Travel Kit. This is a really cool way for people to try before they buy. It gifts people the opportunity to travel with our tried-and-true products while not spending a fortune.
I think a lot of times, with glass bottles, they become heavy and hard to pack. This holiday travel kit is always looking for ways to sample the line to customers and gives them the opportunity to try it over the holidays and hopefully replenish it in the new year!
- NATALIE WONG Founder, Pep Soap Co.
On one hand, this has been a long year with world events that can be draining. On the other, too many of us are living an "always on" life running at breakneck speed. I think it's important to slow down. Based on the popularity of meditation and the full shelves of books on minimalism, slowing down, and living life with intention, it's safe to say that many people are feeling the same way.
For the holiday, we offered two seasonal winter soap, JOY and MAGIC. Both have cinnamon essential oil as a base note to invoke a sense of calm and warmth. It's a kind reminder to pause and let the magic in.
- Tom Reynolds Head of Brand, Coco & Eve
This holiday we want to surprise and delight our customers. Not only are they looking for great gifts and savings, but limited edition items that bring extra value beyond the product itself.
No-one wants a recycled gift so we are always looking at how we can go further and offer something that is special for the season. For us that means unique gifts-with-purchase and accessories to enhance customers masking experience.
If you have a question you’d like Beauty Independent to ask beauty entrepreneurs, please send it to editor@beautyindependent.com.
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