Australian online beauty retailer Adore Beauty has today unveiled its second private label offering: a collection of SPF products released under its new AB Lab label.The new range was developed internally after the Adore team surveyed 800 customers to understand what they were missing from their beauty regimen. They found that about a third of respondents weren’t using sun-safe products due to the perception that they provided ‘extra protection’, rather than forming a necessary part of their daily routine. And while the business’ founder and chief creative officer Kate Morris believes everyone has their own beauty needs, being sun safe is a non-negotiable. “Our approach has very much been not to tell customers what they should be using, but sunscreen really is the exception to that,” Morris told Inside Retail. “It’s essential, and we realised this was a problem to be solved. We asked our customers what they needed from sunscreen, and really went back to first principles when designing the range.”The range is made up of three skincare-led SPF products, made in Australia with vegan and cruelty-free ingredients, which are formulated to provide a cosmeceutical benefit to the user beyond sun protection. The SPF range is the latest private label from Adore Beauty, but it won’t be the last – nor will it be the only to use the AB Lab branding, Morris explained.“Sunscreen is the first category we’ll tackle [with AB Lab], and then we’ll expand the range by using our data and experience to find gaps in the market, or where something is missing for our customers,” Morris said.“It’s been so exciting”Earlier this year, Adore Beauty launched its first private label range with Viviology, a cosmeceutical skincare range created in collaboration with Melbourne dermal therapist James Vivian. The idea was to make the quality ingredients used in skin clinics more accessible to everyday customers. The range, made up of a collection of six products, has so far seen a surprising level of success.“Honestly, it’s been so exciting for us,” Morris said. “You work long and hard on these things, and you hope it works, and then people are excited by the idea and like the products enough that we’re beginning to see repeat buyers.”“When you see that, it’s like, ‘Yes, testing 40 different moisturiser samples to get the right formulation was worth it’.”Customers are reportedly also asking for bigger sizes, which Morris said is “a really good problem to have.”Unlike AB Lab, the Viviology brand isn’t likely to grow in scope and range, Morris said, as it was created to fill a specific need and was born out of a collaboration. Moving forward, however, private label is tipped to become a major part of the business. Adore Beauty will double its investment in its private label offerings in FY23, and expects them to be a key driver of revenue growth, alongside its mobile app and overseas wholesaling opportunities.Adore Beauty forecasts private label to make up 10 per cent of its overall revenue by 2027, while its mobile app could drive as much as 30 per cent. And despite the fact that retailers are heading into a particularly difficult economic environment, with customer spending at risk of falling due to a lack of consumer confidence, Morris isn’t concerned.“If anything, during [economic] downturns, you’re more likely to see a ‘lipstick effect’ – where people might not buy a new TV or a couch, but are still as likely to treat themselves to something small that makes them feel good,” she said.“As far as our private label goes, we’ve positioned them at an accessible price point, which was a good decision. We think they’re going to do really well regardless of what’s going on in the external environment.”