HOW DO I LAND THE DREAM RETAILERS AS A BEAUTY BRAND?

This is us goofing around outside Sephora after our launch meeting with them last week ? It’s a dream come true to launch with a retailer like this but it didn’t come without some bloody hard work. Here are our tips:

?Be visible. We met Sephora at Beautycon, where we stood 8am-7pm talking non-stop to consumers, influencers and buyers. We are tirelessly present on social media. We hired a PR agent from early on. The two of us jump at the chance to appear on any panel and attend any networking event. Being present is key, ask yourself: where might a beauty buyer hang out (both online and IRL) and get your brand there.

??‍♀️Be proactive (/a stalker). If they don’t find you through your newfound brand presence, find them! There’s the classic LinkedIn tactic but other avenues too; it’s quite common now for buyers to also be influencers so do your research and think outside the box when it comes to the way you introduce yourself.

??Be persistent. As any beauty buyer will tell you, they are crazy busy and yes, I know as brand founders we are too but it’s important to remember that priorities differ. They may not read your email right away and they almost definitely won’t respond. You’ll need to be persistent, in a non-annoying way. Always follow-up on your initial email with a gentle nudge and make sure what you’re saying is relevant to that particular buyer (no copy pasting please) and is telling them something new.
??Be receptive. You’re not going to win every one. You’re sure as hell going to get some no’s – we did and still do – and that’s ok.

Be receptive to the feedback you get; you can learn a lot about how your brand/pitch is being received, which can then help shape your strategy. We got turned down by a higher-end retailer for our price point (too low), this forced us to really define where we sit in the market and we used this feedback to decide which retailers we contacted moving forward.