Eyeko has its eye on the American mascara market.
Relaunched last year after a major overhaul, the British brand is entering all Sephora doors in the U.S. and Canada, including units inside J.C. Penney stores. Eyeko’s main focus is mascara available in three varieties — Skinny Brush Long & Tall, Curvy Brush Curl & Hold and Fat Brush Big & Bold — each priced at $19.
“We want to be the fastest-growing mascara in Sephora,” said Max Leykind, who founded Eyeko with his wife, Nina. He pointed out that Eyeko already has the fastest-growing mascara at Harvey Nichols, where it rolled out to seven stores at the end of last year, and sold out of more than 2,000 pieces in four minutes during a recent appearance on QVC in the United Kingdom.
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The Leykinds, who helped launch Hard Candy in the U.K., created Eyeko in 1999 as a Japanese pop art-inspired character on their e-commerce Web site Eyebeauty.com and soon began selling products such as eye creams, lip glosses, nail polishes and mascaras with packaging based around the character. At its height in the early Aughts, Max said the brand was registering $2 million annually in wholesale sales, half of which came from its mascara items, at retailers that included Nordstrom, Ulta and Selfridges.
As the brand matured, Nina felt the character began to feel dated. “I don’t think it is fashionable now,” she said. “You want your products to look sophisticated. That equates to quality.” So, Eyeko left behind the character in favor of sleek silver packaging emblazoned with the brand’s pink shield logo. Guitar-picklike shields are provided with mascaras to avert sloppy application.
Nina explained Eyeko’s philosophy is to “treat your lashes like you treat your hair. We are using hair technology in mascara so your lashes look lovely.” The Eyeko mascaras contain pro-vitamin B, shea butter and keratin.
In the first year of its relaunch, Max said Eyeko, which is in talks to sell at U.S. department stores and will hit HSN in April or May, is on track to generate $3 million in wholesale sales, and the brand’s goal is to reach $24 million within three years. “There is no mascara authority out there. We want to become an authority and a respectable source for your mascara,” he declared.