Lornamead: Transforming iconic brands for a younger, diverse generation of users
Lornamead is a vivid example of a company successfully transforming its legendary brands into icons coveted by a younger audience.
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Historically, consumer packaged goods’ brand messages centered on the benefits and functionality of the products. “But when you are focused on the New General Market consumers, they are looking for brands that provide greater purpose,” Randy Sloan, Lornamead president, told Drug Store News.
They insist on ingredients that are properly sourced, formulas that are not tested on animals and materials that are recyclable or recycled. They also like brands that address social issues and give back to society.
Yardley is perhaps one of the industry’s best case studies. The more than 200-year-old brand is working on strengthening its message and packaging with millennials in mind, and especially an ethnically diverse audience.
Starting seven years ago, Lornamead took Yardley from soaps once used by royalty to an affordable indulgence for a new generation. Additionally, the compelling ingredient story and fragrance heritage — including skin-nourishing essential oils, no harmful ingredients and no animal testing — appealed to consumers looking for more natural brands. “Yardley is an entry point — a bridge — to other natural items, and those customers are valuable shoppers,” Sloan said.
One of the inspirations was to bring boutique-style merchandise to the mass market. “We did a lot of primary research and talked to consumers in their home to see how they interact,” added Sloan.
Yardley is building off of its heritage and retaining those consumers, while being introduced to a whole new generation. It used to be a brand consumers heard about from mothers or grandmothers — now usage is spread across all ages.
The strategy is working, with Yardley ranking as one of the fastest-growing bar soaps five out of the past six years. “We have a story to tell that resonates with this age group,” Sloan said.
The emerging generation also has shifted away from traditional print and television advertising. “To reach them, you have to go where they spend their time,” said Sloan, and that’s digital media. To that end, Lornamead is working to uncover what works best for each of its brands be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other platforms like YouTube.
YouTube played a role in the launch of Lornamead’s latest innovation, created with the New General Market in mind. Instrumental Beauty is a collection of tools filling white space in drug and discount stores. “It is primarily a line of facial cleansing devices, starting with a small rotary brush up to a sonic cleansing brush that give consumers, who are looking for technology to keep their skin beautiful, a cost-effective way to use beauty tools,” Sloan said. The company leveraged technology and sourcing capability from its parent Li & Fung to launch the new line.
For Instrumental Beauty, the company reached out to shoppers via social media and engaged the vlogger/blogger community to help launch a new item. “They have even more impact than celebrities in many cases because they are perceived as real people,” he explained. “It is like your friend telling you to use something.” Vlogger campaigns for the beauty tools drove measurable sales both online and in store, he said.
Lucky for Lornamead, sometimes the influencers single them out independently. Kim Kardashian has mentioned Lornamead’s Finesse as a product favorite.
An important part of Lornamead’s go-to market strategy is to share its learnings with retailers and create programs that work for each account’s unique needs. “There is no cookie-cutter solution,” Sloan concluded.