00:00...founders that resonate with today's ever-evolving multicultural beauty landscape.
00:06So let's make some noise as we bring them up to the stage.
00:09Mabel, come on up here, fabulous self.
00:13And come on up here, brand founders.
00:15They're going to introduce themselves and tell you all about their journeys.
00:18Thanks so much.
00:19Hello, my name is Mabel Frias, as she said, and I'm co-founder of Luna Magic Beauty.
00:30We are a trend cosmetics line available nationwide in Walmart, Target, and CVS stores.
00:38And our mission is to provide high-quality cosmetics at great prices.
00:41It's such a pleasure to be here with two dynamic co-founders.
00:45And the topic today of choice is marketing to today's multicultural customers.
00:49So join me in welcoming the co-founders of Anu Lee Skin.
00:54We have Rache Kaselli and Kelechi Onye Meluke.
00:59Onye Meluke.
01:00Meluke, sorry.
01:02And you can introduce yourselves a little bit about your company, and then we can get started from there.
01:07Yeah.
01:08So my name is Kelechi Onye Meluke.
01:10I am the co-founder and CEO of Anu Lee Skin.
01:13We are a luxury A-beauty brand found and based in the Washington, D.C. area.
01:19We are powered by African botanicals, really founded on the ideas of minimalism and really encouraging joy through self-care.
01:27And hi, my name is Rache Kaselli, and I am the co-founder and COO of Anu Lee.
01:33And Kelechi describes who we are as a brand perfectly.
01:38Well, welcome, welcome, ladies, to Essence.
01:40One thing that I always look to at founders when they talk about skin care is their skin.
01:46And these two beautiful ladies have beautiful skin.
01:49And as it relates to, as you know, there's a lot of challenges that come with marketing to multicultural consumers,
01:56consumers of color, because our skin textures, our concerns, hyperpigmentation,
02:00it's just a little bit different than what's generally been available in the general market.
02:04So tell us a little bit about, like, how you started this.
02:07What niche or what void did you realize created the need for your brand to exist?
02:14Yeah.
02:15So we've been on this journey for a while now.
02:18We started Anu Lee initially in 2019, and we realized as black women,
02:24we weren't seeing ourselves represented in the luxury skin care space.
02:29Kelechi will speak to it as well.
02:31She's Nigerian-American, and so we wanted to really pull in high-quality ingredients, science,
02:38and pair that with African botanicals.
02:41And so our first product, which is Daily Supplement Serum,
02:45launched a little over a year ago, March of the last year,
02:49and it really just speaks to nourishment and a beautiful African botanical vitamin story
02:57that keeps our skin nourished and radiant.
03:01It was really important for us to be inclusive.
03:05We are clinically tested on a diverse group of consumers,
03:10and so that was what was super important for us to accomplish,
03:14is being inclusive and seeing everyone represented in the skin care space.
03:19So that's beautifully said.
03:21So when you think about your customer, who is your target customer?
03:24What are he or she or they are concerned?
03:28And I'm curious, because you mentioned science.
03:31So I'd love to dig a little bit into how you're using science to market your brand and your product.
03:36Yeah.
03:37I think our customer is someone who is very concerned
03:40and also very aware of what they put in and on their body.
03:45Your skin is your largest organ, right?
03:47So the same way you take care of your heart, your lungs,
03:50you want to make sure that what you're putting on your skin is efficacious and it's safe.
03:55However, we don't want to put a lot of products on our skin, right?
04:00A lot of ingredients can sometimes cause irritation.
04:03You may not be able to pinpoint exactly what it is that is irritating your skin.
04:07And so one of the hallmarks of A Beauty is actually minimalism.
04:11And it's very important to our brand.
04:13So someone that's very intentional about what they use and how much they use,
04:18but also they still want to feel that luxury, right?
04:21They still want to feel good about what they use.
04:23And so that is, I think, the hallmark of our customer.
04:26That could be a man.
04:27It could be a woman.
04:28And yes, we are an A Beauty brand,
04:30but it could be a person of any color from any background.
04:33And I think that's really important because other types of skincare like K Beauty
04:39or, you know, Korean Beauty, Japanese Beauty,
04:41they market and they say it's for everyone.
04:44Same thing for A Beauty, right?
04:46Black people typically have very sensitive skin.
04:49And so if it works for us, it's going to work for everybody.
04:53And that's something that we really do when we,
04:55we really want to communicate as we market our brand and spread the word about us.
04:59Yay, I love that was beautifully said.
05:02You have a really global approach.
05:04You know, with us at Luna Magic, we are Afro-Latinas, we're Dominican.
05:08And the way that we saw bringing that vibe through cosmetics
05:13was really just sharing our culture.
05:14So part of your brand mission I saw on your website is African Rituals.
05:18Tell us a little bit about those rituals
05:20and how that's embodied in your brand and in the product.
05:23Yeah, so I'm Nigerian-American and I really wanted to infuse that into our brand,
05:29bring our culture to our brand, not just through our ingredients,
05:34which is like baobab and shea and tamanu oil,
05:38but also in just the way that we approach skincare.
05:42So our first product, the Daily Supplement Serum,
05:44is very nourishing and moisturizing.
05:47I think that moisture is...
05:49Everything.
05:50It's everything, right?
05:51If your skin is hydrated and moisturized, it's going to be great.
05:55One of our...
05:57Actually, our only mentor, right?
05:59The founder of Hanahana Beauty.
06:00She's actually here.
06:02Her logo is Never Be Ashy.
06:04Never Be Ashy.
06:06A Beauty, one of the Hallmark's...
06:07She's my bestie.
06:09It's just really moisturizing your skin.
06:11And I think that's really one of the most important parts about our African rituals.
06:16Great.
06:17What I love about what you just said is I love when I see founder community,
06:20founder, women supporting each other.
06:23And that usually, when customers see that,
06:25I actually have found that that to be a winning strategy for multicultural customers, right?
06:30We want togetherness.
06:31We want to create these products by us, for us, and for the world,
06:35but also do so in a way in which we champion values.
06:38Like we see here at Essence, sisterhood, community.
06:40So congratulations on you, too.
06:42Now I'm going to take it one step deeper.
06:45I want one example of an African ritual that everyone should walk away with as they apply your serum.
06:53And cheat sheet, I use the product myself.
06:56Load.
06:58It's great.
06:59Look at my skin.
07:00My ritual would be less is more minimalism.
07:09So our product stands on its own, right?
07:14You don't need the whole 10-step skincare routine.
07:18So you cleanse.
07:19You tone.
07:20You make sure that your skin is hydrated.
07:22And then you lock that in with daily supplement serum.
07:25And, of course, apply your SPF right after that for daytime.
07:29So minimalism, less is more.
07:32I think that is a practice, an African ritual, a American, a Black American ritual.
07:39So minimalism.
07:41Great minimalism.
07:42And when I think about today's multicultural customers, I think about finding them where they are.
07:47So tell us a little bit about your strategies.
07:49Are you doing pop-ups?
07:50Are you doing events?
07:52Are you partnering with other brands?
07:53Are you doing reels on social media?
07:55Like, what's your strategy to connect with the customer online or offline?
08:02Yeah, so we are a very new brand.
08:04We only launched in March of last year.
08:07Our best and biggest strategy has been word of mouth, right?
08:11Meeting our customers in person, whether it's on the street of New York, in L.A., at Essence, right?
08:17And we're so grateful for this opportunity.
08:19But being able to tell our story in person has been the way that we've actually been able to grow the fastest and the strongest.
08:26Of course, we love doing events.
08:28We've teamed up with this great brand based in L.A. called Suite Life Sundays to do events in L.A., to do events here.
08:36And also just really connecting with our founders.
08:39And it doesn't have to be about skin care, right?
08:42We really want to promote wellness, whether it's through, like, Pilates in the park or just even having a break in your day to do, like, a little culture event.
08:50Coffee and culture.
08:51Go to, like, one of the museums in D.C.
08:54But just connecting on a more personal level and taking that relationship from offline to online to in real life.
09:03Awesome.
09:03So I want to round out this panel with one.
09:06I always like to think about the future of visionary question.
09:10So it's been a delight to hear about your brand, where you're going, and how you reach your customers.
09:14But what is your vision?
09:15What is your North Star?
09:17If, well, the world is your oyster.
09:20You never know who's watching this content.
09:22Tell the world what you want.
09:26And what do you see for the future?
09:28How do you plan to grow your brand?
09:31So what we want is to take Anuli Global.
09:34We are based in the United States.
09:38We want to be on the continent of Africa.
09:41We want to be everywhere we can possibly be.
09:46Immediately, we want to grow our SKU.
09:49Right now, we have one product in our brand.
09:53And we're looking to increase that.
09:55So growth in terms of products and just being everywhere we're capable of being.
10:02Yeah.
10:02I think for me, it's really important to put a beauty on the global stage.
10:07Right?
10:07And being that brand that really champions it.
10:10Not just where we've seen it now, but really in that luxury space.
10:15I want to see ourselves in Neiman's.
10:17I want to see ourselves in Saks.
10:18I want to see ourselves in Harrods.
10:21I just really want to be that luxury A-beauty brand while still staying true to our roots.
10:27And also setting shop in Africa, right?
10:29You can't be an A-beauty brand without having an impact on the continent.
10:32And also offering your products to people on the continent.
10:35So I really believe that, you know, we're on our way.
10:38And I'm excited to see us get there.
10:40I love that.
10:41Well, congratulations, ladies, for launching not only an incredible product, but an incredible brand.
10:45And thank you for your service to our community.
10:47And let's go take this A-beauty to the world.
10:52Yes.
10:53Thank you so much for having us.
10:56Of course.
10:56This is great.
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