Body Care Brand Maëlys Launches at Ulta
Body care brand Maëlys has inked its first retail partnership.
Beginning Monday, a selection of the brand’s body-reshaping products will land at all Ulta stores across the U.S., after having previously only been available direct-to-consumer and on the Ulta website.
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“There’s a whole segment of customers that we haven’t met up until now — the ones that actually go to the stores and shop and touch and feel,” said Rom Ginzburg, chief executive officer of Maëlys, of why he sought to partner with Ulta for this launch. “We made a decision to become a strong omnichannel brand this year, and we’re going all in.”
Among the brand’s products arriving at Ulta stores include belly, arm and breast firming creams, as well as the brand’s hero B-tight Lift and Firm Booty Mask, all of which retail for $49 each.
Maëlys, which describes itself as a “d-to-c first” brand, sees the move as a natural next step as it seeks to fortify its U.S. presence. Since launching in the U.S. in 2019, the country has joined Canada, Australia and the U.K. as one of the brand’s key markets, according to Ginzburg.
“We knew at some point we would have to go to other channels — I think when you get to a certain scale and size, it makes sense to do so,” Ginzburg said. “Ulta was an easy choice for us when we looked at the options out there; our customer profile mimics Ulta’s 1:1.”
Ginzburg did not comment on the brand’s sales, but industry sources estimate Maëlys’ annual sales to be above $100 million.
As far as what is driving the brand’s growth, Ginzburg said he feels body care solutions remain a largely untapped market, and Maëlys seeks to bring those unmet consumer needs to the fore.
“Skin care has gone and become very much developed at this point in time. When you think about body, it’s in a much earlier stage,” Ginzburg said. “Everyone is talking about the skinification of body — we’re walking the walk.”
Significantly bolstering the brand’s efforts is its data collection strategy, said Ginzburg, who describes Maëlys as a “data-driven organization.”
The CEO said consumer data informs the brand’s approach to product development, category expansions and marketing, and also plays a key role in consumer retention efforts.
“We have what I call our Powerhouse Effective Data Marketing Platform — that’s the core of our business,” said Ginzburg, who noted that coping with Apple’s launch of iOS 14.5 and its crackdown on data tracking transparency last year was a challenge for Maëlys, as with most brands, but one that his team has since risen to meet.
“I think companies that do not invest in the intersection of data and marketing will have a hard time succeeding, and we’re all about that,” he continued.
In the coming months, the brand aims to add more stockkeeping units to its in-store Ulta selection, and has also set its sights on brick-and-mortar expansions in other countries, as well.
“When we started out as d-to-c, we said we were going to be very big on d-to-c,” Ginzburg said. “When we went and now decided we were going to expand into retail, we had only one goal, which was to be big in retail — and we’re going to be big in retail.”
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