How 26-Year-Old Heritage Skincare Brand, Paula’s Choice, Sparked A New Dialogue With Gen Z

Finding new customers, audiences along with fostering a community is no easy feat especially when you are a legacy brand. Paula’s Choice, however, was able to create a new dialogue with Gen Z after repositioning themselves in the beauty market. Founded in 1995 by internationally renowned beauty and skincare expert, Paula Begoun in a commitment to consumer advocacy and education, the brand mainly consistent of customers who are now Gen Z’s parents and grandparents. Known for its bestselling 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, Boosters, and Niacinamide treatments, the brand is now loved by everyone from teenagers with acne to adults with anti-aging concerns. Paula’s Choice knew that their smart, safe beauty philosophy, emphasis on transparency and science-backed, environmentally friendly skincare would resonate with Gen Z even though they weren’t on their radar. 

Product quality, environmentally friendly, transparency and a personalized experience paired with affordability is what Gen Z values when giving their loyalty to a brand. And that’s exactly what Paula’s Choice has delivered. “Our brand ethos of truth and transparency aligns with what the younger customer is looking for. From the start 25 years ago, we were writing about what should and shouldn’t be used on the skin, and translating these standards into Paula’s Choice Skincare. We’re only about giving people the straightforward truth with products that work and are good for your skin —no gimmicks, no hype,” explained Erika Kussmann, CMO of Paula’s Choice. “The combination of our education and effective formulas causes us to stand out with all ages, but Gen-Z is quite savvy about what they put on their face, skincare and ingredients. Our DNA is in providing people the information to make the right decisions, from site to social, across all of our channels.” 

Another proof point of how the brand has gotten traction is through their expert advice articles and our ingredient dictionary, which are a resource for influencers and editors but have found their way into the TikTok world. The platform’s quick education hacks and influential TikTok creators have helped make the brand’s education and effective formulas visible to a new audience. Paula’s Choice also landed as one of the most talked-about beauty brands on Reddit in 2020 which was one of the driving forces behind selling over 10,000 units of 25% AHA 2% BHA Exfoliant Peel in a matter of days. 

“As a native DTC brand, we have the capabilities to be able to reach customers in the relevant digital channels. On social media, we’ve expanded our presence by connecting with skincare-savvy audiences. The growth of #paulaschoice on TikTok 20x since last year and our Instagram community is up more than four times over the past two years. Fans have been finding us on social who were attracted to our skincare and ingredient content. Over time, this community has become this strong legion of advocates empowered by knowledge. We’ve connected with a range of influencers who had an interest in skincare and skincare knowledge, and we saw our products resonate with them: our products were effective, so they continued to use them and asked to replenish. With so many people getting more involved in skincare, another way customers have found us is through ingredient and skincare searches, especially given our rich content,” continued Kussmann on how Paula’s Choice tapped into a new audience. 

With new customers up 181% since previous years, Kussman additionally shared that people new to Paula’s Choice make up over 70% of their expert advice traffic and searches in their ingredient dictionary have doubled. While they conquered TikTok in 2020, the brand is leaning more into Youtube in 2021 to target and scale their message. Combined with their AI learning and full-funnel digital marketing strategies, Paula’s Choice can connect with customers with their content through a variety of touch-points. Paula’s Choice anticipates continuing to find new, savvy and young customers who care to learn and share about what they’re putting into their skin.

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