Focus On: Maesa keeps its finger on the pulse of beauty
Consumer trends, especially in the frantic beauty world, change on a dime. Retailers and suppliers better be able to change with them.
Officials at Maesa said their entire marketing strategy is designed to help retailers stay ahead of the curve across seven key beauty segments. In fact, officials at the New York-based company, which bills itself as an incubator that grows “meaningful” beauty brands globally, said that if they do not stay nimble, they risk falling far behind consumer needs and demands.
Letting the grass grow under their feet is definitely not something that is part of the culture at Maesa. With a well-heeled marketing department, plus an aggressive research and development team, the company is well known and respected in the mass retail world for its ability to develop the exclusive products — both brands and private label — for specific retailers, getting them to market and backing them up with the right support to get shoppers to notice.
As many in the industry know only too well, the beauty category now is driven by the Internet and a group of influencers whose comments can make or break a brand, product or even a category in a matter of minutes. Many shoppers, particularly younger and Internet-savvy ones, are quick to react to news about product introductions or new technologies when it comes to their beauty needs.
“In today’s world, where everything changes so quickly, retailers do not have the luxury of waiting years and years for a trend to develop,” said Scott Oshry, chief marketing officer and partner at the 27-year-old company. “Popular brands can be created in a day and that means to remain relevant, we also have to be flexible and quick to address the fast-changing purchasing patterns of consumers.”
Founded in France, the company made its presence felt in the United States by offering exclusive deals to retailers in overlooked segments, white spaces or with underutilized brands.
Besides exclusive brands made for leading retailers, Maesa offers the Believe Beauty, TPH, Anomaly and Hey Humans brands. The company, with about 350 employees scattered in offices in seven countries around the world, offers products in the hair care, skin care, color cosmetics, bath and body, and fragrance categories.
“We excelled during the pandemic,” Oshry said. “We attribute that to offering our retail partners great products rooted in value. We can be aggressive with our pricing. We are very confident that approach will continue to work for us in the future, benefitting both our company and our retail partners.”