As recent evidence suggests, Australian beauty is having a moment. Many homegrown brands are garnering attention overseas due to their unique, paraben-free formulations that also include natural Aussie ingredients such as kakadu plum and lemon myrtle.
While long-established brands such as Jurlique and Aesop have their global distribution down pat, the move abroad isn't always as simple for smaller Aussie brands. To gain a little more insight into cracking an international market, BD spoke to GAIA Skin Naturals managing director Michelle Vogrinec, whose brand is now stocked in over 20 countries worldwide.
What countries do you currently export to?
Globally! GAIA is today sold in NZ, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Canada, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Malaysia, Thailand, China (through cross border trade), India, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Kenya, Uganda, Vietnam.
Australian consumers have always been discerning, but it’s reassuring to see other markets, such as Sweden and its Scandinavian neighbours, equally discerning about paraben free products and natural solutions to everyday skincare complaints.
What do you think consumers in those countries love about Australian skincare?
Globally, Australian brands benefit from our ‘clean, green, eco- friendly country’ reputation and trust that our manufacturing processes are meeting the highest standards. Australian brands also look to innovation in, not only formulas, but packaging and business processes to maximise efficiencies and minimise environmental impact in an effort to be competitive with the world.
What are some of the ways you market the brand overseas and do you find any part of the strategy particularly successful?
Strategies used in our global marketplace vary greatly and are bespoke to the local market. Whilst we try to capture the essence of what we do in Australia, there is a certain amount of customisation needed in every market place. For example, in Canada, we must translate the product into French to cater not only for the French-Canadian regions such as Montréal, but also to ensure compliance to their national health laws.
In Sweden we work closely with our Swedish distributor, focussing on appealing to the eco-friendly customers as this is an important buying decision in this market.
In some of our key Asian markets, we are more focused on the benefits of the organic oils that are contained within the product and the associated health benefits.
Where do most of your customers find out about the brand?
Friends, family and other Mum’s online.
How do you manage to get cut through in an ever-growing, natural skincare category?
As natural products evolve to more mainstream, the consumer is now educated and confident in their purchase decision, with many expecting to see their everyday skincare needs, met by their local supermarket, in addition to their traditional purchase channels of pharmacy, health food or baby store.
Baby events prove popular as well as larger multi-buy packs that help encourage product comparison and switch sell for the customer.
Brands now go beyond the product on the shelf and an approachable, relatable support team is required to resonate with the customer in new ways.
For more information and to download hi-res images, visit the brand listing.
