Beauty Inc. celebrates the year’s hottest innovations and most directional marketers. See the winners here.
Brand of the Year
Prestige: Urban Decay
Urban Decay is the master of maintaining its edge in a rapidly changing world. While the brand has always been the cool kid in the room, its acquisition by L’Oréal in 2012 spurred speculation about whether it could maintain its cred. Four years later, Urban is the poster child for how to successfully integrate an Indie into a large corporate culture. By leveraging its acuity in social media marketing to fuel both blockbuster franchises like the Naked range and new launches such as Vice Lipstick, Urban’s sales continue to soar, reportedly exceeding $600 million. While L’Oréal doesn’t break out numbers by brand, it did give Urban a major shout-out when reporting second-half results, noting the brand is at the forefront of the makeup boom. And with a team that’s among the best in the biz at building buzz, Urban looks set to continue its winning ways.
Related Articles
Mass: Garnier
When it came to the hottest trends for 2016, Garnier lit up the scene. John Butcher, Target Corp.’s senior vice president of beauty, credited the brand with being at the forefront of bringing must-haves to mass. In skin care, Garnier introduced Micellar Cleansing Water, which skyrocketed to the number-one new cleanser in mass when it launched early in 2016, according to Nielsen. Garnier also tapped into the booming superfoods trend with the launch of Whole Blends hair care, which quickly gained market share in the competitive and fragmented hair-care segment. (Conditioner sales skyrocketed more than 70 percent for the 12-week period ended August 7, said IRI.) And Nutrisse hair color got a boost with new ingredients. Said Alex Perez-Tenessa, vice president of beauty at CVS, “We have been excited to see Garnier drive growth through innovation in 2016.”