It took many meetings, a lot of networking, and a big PR and media push for the Australian conscious beauty brand Face Halo to secure a full store roll-out at Ulta Beauty in the US. The deal, which is the largest achieved by the Perth-born brand since launching a little more than three years ago, will see its reusable makeup remover range stocked in more than 1200 Ulta stores across the country, as well as online. It was the cherry on top of a massive year for Face Halo. In the past s
past six months, it has secured major international retail partners, including Douglas (Germany), Zalando (Europe), Rite Aid, Kohl’s, The Hut Group (USA) as well as Superdrug, John Lewis Partnership and Cult Beauty in the UK.
The entire Face Halo range is now available in more than 10,000 stores globally.
But according to the brand’s co-founder Lizzy Pike, cracking the US wasn’t easy.
“When we first started, they just weren’t ready to accept sustainable beauty,” Pike said.
“Unlike their British and Australian counterparts, US consumers are only at the start of their sustainability journey, so we are looking forward to changing the American beauty landscape and positioning Face Halo as the frontrunner and champion of the Conscious Beauty movement.”
The US expansion is expected to see global Face Halo sales grow by more than 20 per cent, and Pike estimates that once the brand is fully rolled out in all stores, they will be selling a Face Halo pad every 20 seconds across the globe.
Pike said the big challenge they faced was actually getting meetings. Once people had a chance to try the product, they liked it. But she recommends being well set up in the US to be able to follow through on deals.
“We’re very lucky that we had warehouses. We’ve expanded, and now we have warehouses in LA, Chicago and Pennsylvania,” Pike said.
“You really do need to be set up and compliant with the way they do ordering, which is all through EDI. It’s a big set-up, and it’s a lot of work and a lot of time. You’ve got to have people on the ground.”
UK demand
Face Halo began as an e-commerce business before building up retail partners. Pike said the business is now about 60:40 retail to e-commerce.
Australia and the UK are Face Halo’s two biggest markets, with the key selling point is sustainability: one pad replaces 500 make up wipes. Back home, Face Halo is the market leader dominating market share in major retailers Priceline, Myer, Coles and Woolworths.
In the UK, sustainable beauty is high on the agenda, and major retailers Selfridges and Holland & Barrett have removed single-use makeup wipes from their stores and replaced them with Face Halo pads.
A survey conducted by the brand found that 60 per cent of UK consumers are looking to buy from sustainable brands, whether shopping for beauty or fashion.
“In the UK, they are super-conscious about getting rid of single-use makeup wipes. When we first started, no-one was really talking about sustainable beauty. And now it is really taking off,” Pike said.
Face Halo is showing no signs of slowing down in 2021. In March, the brand debuted its Modern Merch apparel collection, which sees Face Halo pads from its send-back scheme upcycled into clothing items.
Throughout the year, the brand is focused on growing the US and EU markets, leading the sustainability push in beauty and launching more innovative products.
