Say What?
The sexual wellness movement is having a moment with emerging brands coming in hot. But outdated, male-centric legacy brands still dominate the market—which means not everyone is getting worked up.
Playground, a female-founded, female-focused sexual wellness company engaged with Bartlett Brands, a female-led creative innovation agency that specializes in strategic brand development, stylish storytelling and sustainable design. Here's how it went down.
In the last few years, there has been a lot of buzz in the industry around designing packaging with refills. However, there’s another model that may have the potential to have an even larger impact in terms of waste reduction and carbon footprint—returnable packaging. Here's why it works, how to scale it and some pioneering examples (Ace of Air, we see you 👀).
“We’ve done a lot of research on this segment’s mindset around skincare and consistently see that by 40, the interest in an inspiring brand is replaced by what we call ‘make it burn,’ which is essentially the perception of guaranteed results over anything else, including brand,” says Bartlett. “It isn’t lost on the consumer that JLo’s youthful glow comes from the best dermatologists, doctors, trainers and wellness gurus in the world and not her skincare line,” say Rebecca Bartlett, Principal & Creative Director.
From skincare to sexual health to sobriety to psilocybin, we are collectively and perpetually reinventing our self-care rituals. The overly ambitious all-or-nothing methods of the past are outdated. Consumers are exploring well-being on their own terms: Resting. Raging. Rejecting perfection. More real life. More in the moment. More achievable. Accepting that you never really arrive at the end goal, but it feels good to keep trying.
Consumers are not connected to female-founded brands just because of "girlboss." Strong brands are a manifestation of a human, with a clear point of view, personality and voice. Founders play a critical role in the development of a brand's creative expression and the emotional connection with consumers.
When we create founder brands at Bartlett Brands, we build the brand to be able to stand without the founder as "the face" by borrowing the founder's life philosophy and attributes to give the brand a clearly differentiated and meaningful perspective. Consumer connection to female-founded brands will remain strong when brands successfully embody what resonates most from their founders.
See how we redefine skincare standards with packaging that is luxurious, effective and environmentally conscious.
As a branding expert who perpetually has new brands pass my desk, I can say conclusively that there is an over-saturation. Given the current challenges of digital marketing, getting "eyes" is more difficult than ever. Brands have returned to hawking celebrities, paid influencers and other tactics from the content marketing playbook—and the relentlessness of it is exhausting. Consumers are inundated with content from brands that doesn't feel relatable or trustworthy. The brands that are winning right now are distributing and marketing creatively through alternative channels where authenticity and trust are everything.
As the personal care industry explores different ways to reduce single-use waste, reusable packaging is gaining traction. Deep dive into why your brand should start thinking about it, how to best design a refillable system and what it takes to overcome challenges in consumer behavior.
B2B and B2C categories have historically been seen as separate entities. But now indie brand owners (a majority with philanthropic and sustainability backgrounds) are reaping the benefits of managing both. Will more brands look to capitalize on B2B avenues? See what Rebecca Bartlett and other industry experts have to say.
Introducing the first-ever Sleep System for Strays made from Amazon’s irresponsible shipping waste. From bags to bitches, we’ve raised the woof on re-use and turned useless trash into bow, meow, wow!
Beauty Independent asks industry insiders how they believe business will transform in the post-pandemic era in retail, manufacturing, social media, packaging, brand strategy and consumer research. Strategy Director Vannett Li weighs in with insights.
With inclusivity becoming table stakes for beauty brands, brands aimed at women of color will have to sharpen their points of difference. These brands are going to need to find a way to differentiate themselves beyond their product offering.
We did the work. Now go save the planet.