Italy-based beauty manufacturer Essentia Beauty is to launch a new tech-driven beauty brand.
Called Ozmee, the brand will launch this month in Italy and is set to be available more widely in August. Ozmee is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand that uses technology, called Morphodiagnosis, to recommend and create products for consumers. The brand will first launch with mascaras.
Essentia developed proprietary face analysis software, which was more than three years in development. The company analyzed the eyelashes of 500 women to define different lash morphotypes such as lash length and density. Based on the collected information, the company developed different mascaras according to each lash morphotype.
Consumers go to Ozmee’s website and take a photo of themselves via their computer’s camera. The site then analyzes the consumer’s eyelashes and recommends the mascara for their lash morphotype.
Although incubated by Essentia Beauty, once the brand launches it will operate autonomously as a start-up. Essentia Beauty General Manager Katia De Martino said the brand will first launch with mascaras as she claims it is one of the most difficult make-up products to currently shop for due to a saturated market.
While first launching DTC, the brand will potentially expand to other channels depending on consumer feedback. However, De Martino notes that the brand’s tech-driven facial analysis is best suited for the DTC model. The brand will also launch more beauty products in both make-up and skincare.
The launch is part of Essentia’s focus on beauty technology, a key part of its investment strategy over the past four years. Other sectors the company is focusing on is packaging with sustainable designs and formulation.
De Martino notes that 20 years ago Essentia was a pioneer in full-service products. However, she says that with a growing number of competitors now offering full service, the company will focus on core areas that add more value to its offer.
Sustainable packaging and formulation
Despite the impact of COVID-19, Essentia highlighted what it calls the successful launch of the eco-friendly Monoprix Make-up Bio line. The collection, which launched last June at French retailer Monoprix (Casino Group), is environmentally friendly and certified organic. The range is Cosmos Organic-certified, a European standard for natural and organic cosmetics. Essentia developed the formulas for the line.
While product testers were not available due to pandemic-related safety regulations and make-up sales were down during the period, De Martino says the line has been successful in terms of sales and consumer feedback.
She credits the strong performance to COVID-19’s impact on the consumer mindset. “People now are really looking for a safe product. Certification with Cosmos is more reliable than ‘clean’, which is overused and not clear for the consumer,” said De Martino.
It took Essentia two years to develop the make-up formulas. The company is now working on an extension of the line.
Essentia also highlighted its refillable smart palette system. While Essentia has partnered with packaging players to offer biobased materials, the company says it believes that refill systems are the best way to reduce waste.
The palette can be customized according to brand’s needs and can combine different products in one, for example, palettes for both eyes and lips. De Martino notes this is provides a marketing opportunity as many consumers may not know how to match a lipstick to an eye color. The product’s design is compact and adapted to on-the-go use.
Another priority for the company is investing in solid perfume packaging and formulation. The company has developed a 100% natural formula for solid perfume, in addition to customizable packaging options. Martino notes that the product responds to both sustainability needs and the younger generation’s demand for new beauty gestures.
Essentia developed a solid perfume stick for France-based Interparfums’ Rochas brand Girl fragrance, which launched in March. The stick aligns with the product’s eco-friendly positioning and aim to respond to younger consumer’s demands for easy-to-use and alternative fragrance options.