There’s a lot of chatter about millennials and the new battery of direct-to-consumer brands that cater to them. But Better Not Younger wants to leave those younger customers to other companies—the new beauty brand covets the 45-and-older crowd. As the name suggests, Miami, Florida-based Better Not Younger, which started as a direct-to-consumer brand in March, is targeting older customers who have aged out of other popular self-care brands.
“We feel this woman is misrepresented,” says Sonsoles Gonzalez, founder and CEO of the company. “The industry has been focused so much on millennials or on talking to women as they age as if they have a problem that needs to be resolved—Better Not Younger is celebrating a woman who is aging that is actually feeling great about herself, not trying to be younger.”
After debuting in March, Better Not Younger now has a dozen hair care products in its lineup; all range in price from $25 to $47. A new campaign, created with agency Dear Future, also an investor in the business, is helping to drum up awareness ahead of a new exclusive deal with Sephora.
The brand began running a digital video that showcases women talking about their lives after the age of 45; out-of-home ads, with the tagline “Beautiful is timeless,” will run in conjunction with the Sephora.com deal that begins October 1.
Matt Kandela, CEO of Dear Future, says that it’s imperative for retailers, even new d-to-c brands such as Better Not Younger, to explore options beyond selling direct, like this new wholesaling opportunity with Sephora. The beauty brand will sell online through the end of the year and then in stores starting in 2020, Gonzalez says.
“We started the business expecting to be this direct-to-consumer brand, then we secured the deal with Sephora and suddenly it’s a dual strategy,” says Kandela. “The nature of the way the business has grown so quickly has meant working with all sorts of different partners.”
Hear from more direct-to-consumer brands at Ad Age Next: D-to-C on Sept. 9. Buy tickets here.
