Evereden recently announced that it was to launch in 118 Sephora stores worldwide, including outlets in Singapore, Hong Kong, The Phillipines, New Zealand and Australia. The US brand said the expansion would allow it to “replicate its success in high growth markets” and to become Sephora’s “anchor brand” in multi-generational skin care.
Evereden’s decision to step up its activity in the Asia Pacific region was not a surprise move - the label already has an established consumer base in Australia, Japan and Singapore via its DTC e-commerce platform.
The Sephora deal would give Evereden the opportunity to reach consumers in the region offline too, the company’s CEO and founder, Kimberley Ho, told Cosmetics-Design Asia.
“Our customers initially discovered Evereden via word-of-mouth, online paid ads and marketing, but we believe this omnichannel presence strengthens our brand following, allowing offline shoppers to discover, interact with and hopefully fall in love with our brand,” she said.
At the same time, as a native DTC brand, Evereden planned to continue investing in online marketing to drive traffic and sale via its digital platforms, said Ho.
“We expect our Sephora launch will strengthen rather than weaken our DTC business by serving as an added, physical touchpoint for consumers, enhancing brand awareness and promoting consumer trust and loyalty.”
Since founding the company in 2019, Malaysian-born Ho has made no secret of her belief that the Asia Pacific market holds great potential for Evereden, as a challenger brand in the multi-generational skin care space.
Reaching grown-up millennials and zoomers
Asked why this is, Ho said: “The APAC market is not only extremely large, representing more than 60% of the world’s total population, but also ripe for disruption. The premium skin care and suncare markets are growing rapidly in this region. Meanwhile, millennial and generation Z populations are beginning to start families and hold brands to higher standards than ever before.”
However, she said there were few “groundbreaking market players”, and that incumbents were long-standing brands who had not innovated to meet these evolving consumer needs.
This scenario had created a gap in the market that Evereden was well placed to fill, Ho explained: “Our positioning resonates with this younger demographic who is searching for innovative products that are both clean and effective. Our rigorous standards and team of dermatologists who we collaborate with throughout our formulation process allow us to position ourselves as a brand that consumers can trust and grow with.”
Asian consumers seek out ‘clean’ family products
Ho said that both consumer needs and the market landscape in Asia Pacific were becoming increasingly developed and sophisticated.
“Consumers have seen ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ storm into other aspects of their lives, such as food and women’s beauty, and now demand it for their families as a whole,” she said.
At the same time, she said they were beginning to value plant-based, high-quality family products, with some APAC regions arguably valuing clean skin care even more than Western countries.
The recent Chinese regulatory crackdown on skin care claims, including the terms ‘clean’ and ‘safe’, demonstrated the rapid advancement of this market, said Ho.
“Government agencies require brands to provide ample documentation supporting these claims or else impose significant consequences, ranging from monetary penalties to suspending the sale of products,” she noted.
The products that Evereden would be selling via Sephora in APAC would be the same as those sold in the US, in line with the company’s goal of having a “globally integrated and consistent portfolio”. These include lines like Golden Belly Serum, Nourishing Stretch Mark Cream, Nourishing Baby Face Cream, Baby Shampoo & Body Wash, Baby Lip Gloss and SPF 50 Premium Mineral Suncream.
Future expansion
However, Ho said that as the business grows, there may be an opportunity to develop specialised products based on the needs of specific regions.
There may also be opportunities for expansion into other Asian markets, she added.
“We are constantly on the lookout for promising avenues of growth and will continue to survey APAC countries that we are not yet in to see where there is demand for clean family care,” she said.
While Evereden wasn’t ruling out the future development of additional channels to market in the region, at this point in time, it was focusing on using its partnership with Sephora as a springboard, explained Ho: “As we analyse product performance and learn more about regional consumer preferences, we may consider expanding into other channels, but we believe Sephora is the strongest partner and ‘jumping off’ point for us to grow in the APAC region.”
She continued: “Sephora understands the needs of premium consumers in fast-growing markets and has always been at the forefront of consumer innovation trends. It has been a natural partnership, as Sephora sees the space as we do and believes in the potential of our segment. We are excited to be the first and only family skin care brand in Sephora as they expand into this new product category and address critical consumer needs from motherhood and beyond.”