Sheet-mask brand, Starskin, is increasing its global presence. The Netherlands-based company, which is currently available in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East, has expanded into the Asia-Pacific market, and plans to enter Canada later this year.
“We have a cult following who are constantly asking for our products to be available in their country,” explained Paul Hendriks, who co-founded and fully owns the brand with partner, Nicole Arnoldussen. “Currently, we are laying the groundwork in several new markets by repeating the methods tried and tested in the countries where the average sell out is 5x higher than retailers’ most-optimistic forecast.”
Inspired by the instant results of South Korean skin care regimens, the duo launched the line of premium sheet masks in September 2015 with the goal of offering high-performance formulations, supercharged with trendy ingredients, to at-home users craving red-carpet results. And consumers are responding. To date, the brand has 37 skus ranging from $10 to $110, and is consistently growing in the high double digits year-on-year. Moreover, Starskin’s points of sale has skyrocketed to over 40 countries at more than 3,000 upmarket department stores and travel retailers worldwide, including Sephora, Douglas, KICKS, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Harrods and ASOS. The brand credits part of its success to targeted sampling programs, gifting and educating beauty associates who then translate the unique brand message to consumers.
“There is a lot of noise in the sheet mask market,” noted Nicole. “With sales booming, new brands are on the rise attempting to share the spotlight. What differentiates Starskin is our ability to identify gaps and develop solutions that become the next new trend. Our strategy is also centered on listening to the market and our loyal consumers.”
A pivotal moment for the brand came in March 2017, when it entered the U.S. market within department stores, including Barneys New York, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. A couple of months later, in an effort to deliver a tailored offering to their consumers and maximise local support, Starskin opened a U.S. sales office and revamped its website and e-commerce platform, which Paul said led to “unprecedented sales.” Next up in its expansion plans is the establishment of a new office in Singapore, created to support new Asian markets.
“As sales are growing globally, the logical market for Starskin expansion was Asia-Pacific,” said Paul. “We strategically launched in a select few countries to start – Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia. In these markets, Starskin has already seen an increase in its global sales by 40 percent and exceeded sales plan in the comp doors. Due to the success, we will not only be expanding into new doors in these existing markets but also opening new markets: India, Korea and Indonesia. As we expand rapidly in Asia-Pacific and increase our worldwide footprint, we quickly realized that an Asian office was necessary to handle sales and Marketing as it was becoming too large of a territory to cover from the Dubai office.”
In addition to increasing its international presence, the brand is also looking to expand from sheet masks into other skin care categories. They recently introduced Orglamic Pink Cactus Pudding ($48), a face moisturizer, and Orglamic Pink Cactus Serum Mist ($42). In mid-April, a 2-Step Lip Treatment will debut as part of the Orglamic line.
“Our Orglamic collection is flying off the shelves, and we believe it’s doing so well as this collection filled a while space in the market for customers who want natural products but do not want to sacrifice on luxury and glamour,” said Nicole. “We have amazing new products launching this year that will not only reinforce our position as the sheet mask authority but also listen to the demands for more product categories.”