InstaNatural is unfurling across the e-tail universe.
A major force in the beauty segment on Amazon, the digitally savvy skin-care brand has broken into iherb.com after extending to jet.com and walmart.com last year. The expansion allows the brand to lessen its dependence on Amazon, which accounted for more than 90 percent of InstaNatural’s sales in the recent past.
“We can deliver the right approach to cater to online shoppers through the content we deliver and the reviews we curate. We’re fast and nimble,” said Ethelbert Williams, chief marketing officer at InstaNatural. “This afternoon, jet.com might say we’re launching new features and we want content, and I’m submitting that content by midnight to be live tomorrow. It’s an environment that’s always on and very data-driven.”
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The tactics, aided by an in-house content studio, seem to be succeeding. Williams divulged InstaNatural has been registering double-digit percentage sales growth month-over-month at jet.com and walmart.com. And the addition of iherb.com is expected to provide another sales jolt. Williams said the e-commerce supplements specialist is on track to become the brand’s number-two revenue driver. “A lot of people haven’t heard of iherb, but it’s massive,” he shared.
InstaNatural’s assortment spans nearly 60 products priced on average at $18. The brand’s best-selling items are Age-Defying & Skin Clearing Serum, Vitamin C Serum and Hyaluronic Acid Serum. To set the stage for its distribution push, InstaNatural underwent a major overhaul to update its packaging to energize its visual presentation online and broaden its consumer messaging.
While e-tail is certainly in InstaNatural’s wheelhouse, the brand is open to brick-and-mortar possibilities, too. “Any retailer today that’s winning is thinking omnichannel. We are exploring click and collect, and how consumers can discover a brand online and walk down the block to pick it up as they’re running errands,” said Williams. “We want to be on the leading edge of doing that.” He noted InstaNatural is considering entering chains of vitamin stores, where the brand could help build the skin-care category.
As it rolls out to more e-tailers, InstaNatural has taken stock of its own web presence. The brand has upgraded its web site by prominently spotlighting product ingredients, integrating a series of videos with product tutorials and making it a user-friendly experience across mobile and desktop platforms. The enhancements were based on insights into InstaNatural’s target market of highly informed 36- to 38-year-old skin-care consumers.
“She’s not brand loyal. She’s looking for specific solutions or ingredients. Just like you might read the ingredient label on a box of food, she wants to understand what’s in the products she puts on her body, and is looking for transparency around that. Instead of just showing cartons and bottles, we’re showing what’s in them,” explained Williams. “She’s also discerning as far as value. She wants to understand the value of a product, but that doesn’t mean she’s looking for a cheap product.”