Aura Science Aims To Activate Anti-Aging Category With Skin Care Entry
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Aura Science is introducing Activate Skin Builder for Wrinkle Reduction as the first in a series of products intended to build the brand's anti-aging offerings, according to the beauty retailer
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Aura Science is introducing Activate Skin Builder for Wrinkle Reduction as the first in a series of products intended to build the brand's anti-aging offerings, according to the beauty retailer. Debuting under the brand's Advanced Solutions range, Activate is the first intensive anti-aging product in the company's portfolio, the firm stated. The launch will be followed by a "robust pipeline" of anti-aging products, which will hit the market over the next several years, according to VP and Chief Marketing Officer Nance Dickinson. "Anti-aging is a major focus for us, obviously, because so many women are interested in the benefits those products offer," the exec said. "In order to compete and become the skin care authority we think we are on our way to becoming, we must compete in anti-aging," she added. Activate will roll out to nine Aura Science stores in October as well as Victoria's Secret Beauty doors. The company says it will offer a preview launch to loyal Aura Science customers in September. The firm recently introduced the brand in six Victoria's Secret Beauty stores in an effort to accelerate brand awareness (1 (Also see "Aura Science Testing In Victoria’s Secret Stores To Build Brand Awareness" - HBW Insight, 26 May, 2003.), p. 6). The line will be expanded to a total of 21 Victoria's Secret Beauty doors by the end of this year. Aura Science is looking to open additional freestanding stores as it continues to build consumer recognition on a per-market basis, the company added. Aura Science, which markets skin care, color cosmetics, fragrances and accessories, launched last year as a joint venture between Limited Brands and Shiseido (2 (Also see "IBI/Shiseido Aura Science Investment Will Top $69 Mil. By 2003" - HBW Insight, 15 Apr, 2002.), p. 3). While Aura Science does market several products with anti-aging benefits in its Advanced Solutions range, the collection is positioned primarily as a daily skin care line, the company noted. Aura Science's skin care category is centered on the aura3system , a line designed to address the four "phases" of skin during a woman's life. Activate is unique from other anti-aging products because it delivers "substantial, measurable and truly visible" anti-aging results in just four weeks, according to Skin Care Marketing Director Rashida Poorman. "Many of the products on the market today don't really promise those kinds of results until you get to six or eight weeks," she pointed out. Activate works to improve both the inner and outer layers of skin, the company claims. "There is no product on the market today that delivers...surface correction while at the same time building and plumping from within," Poorman added. The formula works through an exclusive Derma-Recovery Complex, a technology formulated with three natural ingredients that repair and rebuild skin's inner structure, Aura Science claims. Saiko extract repairs skin by activating fibroblasts that promote collagen production, while ascorbyl glucoside and beech bud extract repair, protect and stimulate skin. The formula maintains the outer layer of skin with a patent-pending capsule emulsification system that delivers vitamin A directly into the skin without irritation. The ingredient stimulates cell turnover to smooth and soften skin and reduce surface lines and wrinkles, according to Aura Science. In consumer testing, more than 50% of women who tried Activate said it improved skin's overall appearance "immediately," while 83% claimed it improved skin's appearance in four weeks. The lotion will retail in a 1.7 oz. bottle for $50. Targeting women in their late twenties and older, Activate is projected to generate first year sales of $700,000 in freestanding stores alone, according to industry sources. Aura Science will promote the launch with an aggressive mail and in-store sampling program targeting the brand's 90,000 core customers. In-store visuals will feature an x-ray shot of the bottle with the tagline "You see wrinkles. We see right through them." In November, Aura Science will introduce an eye product under Advanced Solutions that leverages Activate's Derma-Recovery Complex. In light of the launch, Aura Science will discontinue sales of Advanced Solutions Erase, a retinol eye cream, the firm noted. |