good looks
Glow Up
The pandemic cracked the foundation of the beauty industry, allowing indie brands to shine through. By Ana Paula Tirado
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rinkles and fine lines aren’t the only things disappearing in skincare these days. During the darkest days of the COVID19 pandemic, some of the biggest brands in the beauty industry struggled to stock shelves because of product shipment delays. Others were forced to abandon new product development thanks to ingredient shortages and supply chain problems. While the pandemic cracked the foundation of the beauty industry, the situation wasn’t bleak for everyone. These cracks created the perfect opportunity for small-batch, independent brands to break through. These indie brands are on the rise despite the pandemic because of niche marketing, a strong presence on social media and product development. Indie beauty brands have thrived this year because they cater to a specific set of consumers who are driven by brand loyalty to a higher degree than those buying mainstream brands. Small beauty brands with the right messages for the current climate have been able to translate this into financial success, said Ann Magnin, owner of a public relations firm in New York that represents several consumer brands, including indie cosmetics brands. Magnin believes that the pandemic has made consumers realize what is important to them, and they are aligning their purchases with these priorities. Sanara Skincare is one example. Rebekah Jensen founded the company in 2019 because she suffers from psoriasis and wanted to create products that soothed her own skin. Sanara comes from the Spanish word sanará, meaning “you will heal.” That’s what the brand is about, said Jensen, who has found success by transmitting this message to the Latinx community: “I want to speak to Latinas because they haven’t been spoken to in the market, and I want to pay homage to my ancestors using plant-based skincare celebrating indigenous Latin American botanicals.” Jensen said her niche approach to marketing ultimately helped Sanara thrive despite the pandemic. Indie brands have also been able to utilize the power of social media to connect with customers and sell products, despite the country’s new stay-at-home culture. Although the big beauty brands are also present on social media, they’ve traditionally relied on interactions with customers at brick-and-mortar stores for up to 85% of sales, according
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to a McKinsey & Company industry analysis on how COVID-19 is changing the beauty business. But Magnin said that smaller skincare brands have another advantage over big brands: a unique voice and the flexibility to adjust social media messaging in real time to account for changing situations and customer suggestions. A strong social media presence definitely helped Flaunt Body thrive despite the pandemic. Flaunt Body specializes in skincare for people who identify as nonbinary, and founder and creative director Cameron Alexis Moore said the brand’s formulations consider all skin and skin types, “including sensitive skin and the complexities of transitioning skin concerns of transgender individuals.” Moore said the effects of COVID-19 tested the brand’s social media strategy, but it also provided an opportunity to revamp these strategies using realtime customer feedback. This feedback “opened the gate for some great collaborations and relationshipbuilding,” Moore said. “The turn of events helped us find the brand’s heartbeat and effectively align our brand story and content, which has helped us thrive economically in the market.” Product development is another area where smaller brands are succeeding because they have been able to develop and launch new products faster than larger brands. Indie brands are able to produce new products in months rather than the years that big brands often take, said Han Ben-Shabbat, founder of Gen Z Planet, a research firm aimed at providing businesses advice to reach Gen Z consumers and author of the article, Small and Powerful: How Indie Brands Shape the Future of the Beauty Industry. Jensen agreed: “Big brands are part of huge corporations; if the ship is going to turn it takes a long time while smaller brands can innovate in a third of the time.” This agility has helped indie brands thrive this year, and Jensen predicts it will set them up for continued success as the country begins its journey past the pandemic. “As an entrepreneur you turn any negative situation around into a positive,” Jensen said, “because if you don’t, that can be the end of your brand.”
