Amorepacific is bringing another K-beauty heavyweight to the U.S.
The beauty conglomerate has launched Mamonde, its flower-focused skin care line, on Amazon. Prices range from $20 to $27.
“The idea is blending botanicals and floral-derived actives with powerful skin care ingredients to bring a ‘flower skin care science’ to the consumer,” said Julien Bouzitat, senior vice president of Amorepacific’s prestige business. “The packaging is very colorful and meant for the digital era.”
Mamonde is “accelerating the penetration of the group in the U.S. market,” with Hanyul, Aestura and Iope being more recent launches than sister brands Sulwhasoo, Innisfree and Laneige, Bouzitat said.
“We know there is, of course, a resurgence of interest in the third K-beauty wave in the U.S., and the ambition is to bring all the power of our research and development, patented technology and ingredients across the portfolio,” Bouzitat said.
The brand’s hero products include its Rose Liquid Mask, which contains 10 percent BHA, as well as its Calming Shot Blue Chamomile Azulene serum. The former of the two sold more than 2 million units in the brand’s last fiscal year.
“What has put the brand on the map in the last three years and made us number one at Olive Young is the liquid mask,” Bouzitat said. “We invented a completely brand new technology and category of ‘sheet mask in a bottle,’ and you get the instant glassiness that we’re synonymous with.”
The go-to-market strategy will play to the brand’s digital appeal. “We want to try this digital-first approach, and we want to have a strong retail partner. Amazon is now the number-one beauty destination in the U.S., and we want to try digital-first, activating through influencers, through affiliates, through creators and through TikTok. We will launch TikTok Shop as a second part of the launch after our Amazon exclusivity, but we want to try to put all of our marketing power behind Amazon, influencers and creators,” Bouzitat said.
One of the company’s differentiators from more nascent indie brands is that Amorepacific has its own proprietary R&D centers, “and most of the botanical extracts are patented that we have a lot of historical research on,” he said. “We know the formulas are differentiated and we wanted to invent the new gesture with the liquid mask.
“We did extensive focus groups with creators and influencers dedicated to skin care, and we asked them to help us first fine-tune the positioning, from the positioning of the product to what the hook will be in a TikTok video about the brand. How would they demonstrate it, and what are the relevant key points? They did the pilot videos for us, we debated it internally, and now we’re going for a massive seeding.”
Mamonde’s target demographic skews more Gen Z and Gen Alpha, given both the psychedelic packaging and the low price point. “Our marketing strategy is very Gen Z, Gen Alpha-first by going social media-first,” Bouzitat said. “We want to use Mamonde as the pilot brand to try to do a digital-first ramp-up. Then, of course, as we build demand and awareness for the brand, we could absolutely consider brick-and-mortar partnerships in due time.”