Beauty Store Business

OCT 2016

For beauty business news, beauty store owners turn to Beauty Store Business. Beauty business trends, beauty business profiles and more!

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44 October 2016 | beautystorebusiness.com More inspiration came from products in the market that Mundt describes as gorgeous and game-changing, and needed a great retail home. She couldn't understand why the stores she worked with didn't know about these brands or why the brands themselves weren't having success on their own. As Mundt got to know the founders of these com- panies, she discovered that they simply had trouble navigating the space and needed some guidance. "If I curated the very best [products] and presented them to my buyer friends, it would be a win for the brands, the buyers and, ultimately, the women who were desperately look- ing for these types of products," she says. In 2016, the move from agency to distributorship became a reality when Crème Collective brought its line of Patyka products to the United States. A UNIQUE VISION NOW AND BEYOND Crème Collective provides an elevated, one-stop-shopping experience for retail beauty buyers. Mundt explains, "Con- sumers are demanding better beauty. They want a healthier, more compelling product without having to sacrifice any of the luxury. This is obviously a chal- lenge for a lot of buyers to figure out, as small, independent brands tend to oper- ate much differently than the L'Oréals of the world." Her company's vision is to bring the freshest, best beauty brands in the world to its retail part- ners nationwide, because they and their customers deserve the best in products, support and high-quality service. She and her staff scour the world for brands that have what it takes to be the next big thing in order to take the work of researching and vetting brands off of the beauty buyer's plate. Once Crème Collective brings a brand on board, it acts as an extension of the brand, as its outside sales force, while making sure that the buying experience and ongoing support for its retailers is second to none. "We want to be better than any of the big guys," she says. Mundt also notes that the beauty market today is following the organic rev- olution. Consumers are demanding higher quality products with organic ingredients. "In the past, nobody ever thought to look at an ingredient deck for lipstick. It was all about performance. Now, we still want performance, but we also want that same lipstick to fight fine lines, nourish lips naturally and be safe to ingest," she says. Mundt believes that this is because the perception of beauty has changed. It's now centered around health and individuality. In the future, she antici- pates wellness rituals firmly staking their claims in beauty. SUCCESS AND ITS TRAITS When asked about her company's unique traits and its keys to success, there are a few factors that make up the winning formula: staffing, branding and social media and its influencers. Mundt asserts that hiring the right people and letting them create the job of their dreams, rather than hiring for a predetermined organizational chart, is crucial. She finds that start-ups enjoy the luxury of being flexible and are in the unique situation to place people in the positions where they can shine. Crème Collective is successful because the people in it are passionate and excited to do their jobs, and its brands are immersed in creative product development and branding without the pressures of the company having to manage a whole- sale business. The agency works with prestige brands and strives to make all interactions with retailers feel high-end. Part of that exclusive service includes a division, Crème Creative, that is dedi- cated to creative brand development and consulting. "About one year ago, [I brought on] Therese Clark as a partner to build out Crème Creative, because she has an incredible background in beauty branding and product development," Mundt says. "Now, beauty brands can tap into what's happening in the marketplace in real time through the sales team while they go through brand development with Crème Creative," she says. "Conversely, the sales team can tap into Therese and her team's expertise in marketing, brand- ing and product development as they encounter challenges in the field." Because branding plays such a key role in the company's success, it's impor- tant to Mundt that the message stays consistent throughout all areas, including digital. "I love branding and we are a branding agency, so our message has to The dynamic duo of Cr•me Collective, Leilah Mundt and Therese Clark. THE CELEBRITY CONNECTION Crème Collective recently teamed up with Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand Goop and its collaboration with organic beauty company Juice Beauty for creative brand development and an ad campaign. "It was a dream for us because we are all Gwyneth Paltrow-obsessed. I've been reading her Goop newsletter since Day 1 and have so much respect for what she is doing for natural beauty," says Crème Collective CEO Leilah Mundt. "The Goop Clean Beauty Shop has done a fantastic job of curating the most effective, clean brands in the world, some of which are Crème Collective's. We jumped at the chance to help her and her team brand their line, which is gorgeous and very effective." Crème Collective's goal with the Goop campaign was to craft tag lines, messaging and an aesthetic around the idea that organic beauty can still be considered a luxury product. There doesn't have to be a trade-off anymore. Mundt and her team wanted to position the brand as the Tesla of skincare, not the Prius. Mundt recalls, "Gwyneth is obviously gorgeous and the best possible spokesperson for her brand. We got a fabulous glam team together and fashion photographer Trever Hoehne for a day of shooting Gwyneth in a very high-fashion way. We took a fun, tongue-in-cheek approach to ad messaging to keep it from being to full of itself. The line has done incredibly well at retail, and we loved working with Gwyneth and her beauty team." "Consumers want a healthier, compelling product without having to sacrifi ce luxury." Images courtesy of Cr•me Collective

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