For New Skincare Brand Luneia, Performance Doesn’t Come At The Planet’s Expense
Gemma Harling is new skincare brand Luneia’s muse. She’s also its founder.
Guided by Harling’s personal experience hunting for products to address her hormonal acne and professional experience stewarding brands at retail as a former senior beauty buyer at A.S. Watson Group-owned chain Superdrug, Luneia is bridging sustainability and performance beginning with Radiance Ritual, a mask with 10% AHA glycolic acid and 2% BHA salicylic acid encased in tube constructed from 50% recycled bottles and reclaimed ocean plastic. Launched last month for pre-orders, which were 200% above forecast, the mask is priced at $50 for a full size paired with an eco-friendly muslin cloth and $20 for a sample size, an amount that can be put toward the purchase of a full-size product.
“Obviously, there’s such a consumer shift toward sustainability, but what I discovered during research was that brands were on one side or the other. They might have great performance, but not consider packaging, or they might be more sustainable, but were less about demonstrable effects. The gap that we address is we are really high-performance, but we are trying to do it in a conscious and positive way,” says Harling. “It’s very much around making consumers feel good about what they’re doing rather than chastising them for what they’re not doing.”
Luneia is aimed at 18- to 34-year-old consumers, particularly skincare connoisseurs able to decipher ingredient decks. Interviews conducted with 350 consumers preceding its launch steered the identification of its target audience and understanding of the target audience’s desires. Harling shares 96% of the interviewees stressed it’s crucial that skincare products yield results; 88% looked to brands to help them live sustainably; and 69% felt it’s up to brands and retailers to reduce packaging waste.
“The gap that we address is we are really high-performance, but we are trying to do it in a conscious and positive way.”
“We want to have a luxury look and feel, and do the right thing to make steps toward sustainability, but we don’t think those things have to be at the expense of a product that actually works,” says Harling, admitting Luneia isn’t perfect when it comes to its environment footprint. The brand expects to later transition to a tube forged from 75% recycled bottles and reclaimed ocean plastic that previously wasn’t available and will continually review greener packaging options. Its glue-free recyclable exterior cartons rely on pulp generated from ecological forestry practices and vegetable ink.
“In five years, I think all brands will start to be sustainable. Even the large conglomerates will have to go down that route because that’s what consumers are interested in, and they are voting with their wallets,” says Harling. “We’ve considered what it means to be a conscious brand from other angles, too. All of our formulations are made the U.K., and are vegan and cruelty-free. We have taken a minimalist approach to formulating. We have only included ingredients that have a benefit for the skin, and we are completely fragrance-free.”
In addition to 10% AHA glycolic acid and 2% BHA salicylic acid, Radiance Ritual features sugarcane-derived squalene, prickly pear seed oil and vitamin E. Luneia develops products according to Credo’s clean beauty standard. Its name is a reference to the moon, and it’s inspired by the moon’s luminosity. The brand’s goal is glowing skin. It recommends customers use Radiance Ritual for 10 to 15 minutes once or twice weekly for bright, smooth skin and clarified pores.
“We are approaching less retailers, but making sure the ones we are approaching would be great partners, and that they would support us and help build the brand.”
At the outset, Luneia is sold digitally on its website, but retail will undoubtedly play a prominent role in its future. Harling estimates 80% of the brand’s sales will ultimately be driven through retailers. Her plan is to choose a limited number of key retail partners and cultivate strong relationships with them. In the United Kingdom, where Luneia is based in London, Cult Beauty and Selfridges are the sorts of retailers on the brand’s distribution wish list. Early on, Harling figures about 50% of Luneia’s sales will be from the U.K. and 30% from the United States. She believes London, Manchester, Birmingham, New York and Los Angeles will be principal hubs of its customers.
“I’ve seen indie brands that chase every single retailer, and our approach is more considered. It’s about looking at partnerships as more strategic and important to us. So, we are approaching less retailers, but making sure the ones we are approaching would be great partners, and that they would support us and help build the brand,” says Harling. “Indie brands don’t have the same deep pockets that some companies like L’Oréal or Estée Lauder have, but what you do have is you are faster to market on trends, and you can be reactive to what the retailers are interested in. We are approaching retailers to be true partners, and we will help them as much as we can on the things that are important to them.” She mentions the possibility of exclusivity arrangements and Luneia being integral to retailers’ sustainability programs.
In its first year on the market, Luneia projects it will register 500,000 pounds or nearly $640,000 at the current exchange rate. Within the next six months, the brand is on track to secure external capital to fund product releases, marketing and retail rollouts. By the end of the year, Luneia’s assortment is slated to grow to six products. Serums are among its forthcoming product introductions this year and ingestibles are on tap for 2021. On the marketing front, Luneia has kicked off outreach to influencers largely with 10,000 followers and under that are skincare experts or lifestyle gurus. Press relations are part of its efforts to raise brand awareness as well.
While Luneia is suited to the current moment of skincare ascendency, Harling argues it will persist and thrive should skincare sales fade. “We are really close to the customer, so we will be ahead of the curve versus some of the larger companies. It could take a company like Coty two to three years to respond to a trend, and the trend might have moved on by that point,” she says, noting Luneia has a pool of about 10 core customers it’s constantly soliciting feedback from. “As a brand, we don’t want to be one-dimensional and look at only skincare. We are already looking at other categories like ingestibles. It’s just about being open to evolving and getting information straight from the consumer and listening to what they want versus the traditional model of bringing out a product and hoping to make people want it.”
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