EXCLUSIVE: Alix Earle Is Hero Cosmetics’ First Global Ambassador

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Hero Cosmetics just got mightier.

The skin care brand has tapped TikTok “It” girl Alix Earle to front its pimple patches as Hero’s first global ambassador, and will collaborate with the 23-year-old creator for a slate of activations through 2024.

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“Alix has been so transparent about her own acne journey, and what we’re trying to do as a brand is normalize the struggles that come with acne,” said founder Ju Rhyu, who first launched Hero in 2017 on Amazon.

Last July, the brand collaborated with Earle on a one-off TikTok video and saw a boost not only in terms of social media buzz but also reflected in its Amazon Prime Day performance just a few days later, partly through Earle’s own Storefront.

“That was our first time working with someone of Alix’s [profile], and it performed so well that we wanted to go deeper with her,” said Rhyu.

The partnership marks Earle’s first global ambassadorship, too.

“As someone who has openly struggled with acne since middle school, I know how emotionally frustrating and defeating it can feel when you can’t find a product that works; I’m so proud to work with a brand like Hero that promotes skin positivity and confidence,” said Earle, whose 6.3 million-strong TikTok following has in part been propelled by her mission to do the same.

Hero crossed the 1 billion patches sold threshold last fall, roughly a year after its acquisition by Church & Dwight in September 2022 for $630 million. So far in 2024, the brand has rolled out two balm products — one for hydration and the other, cleansing — as part of its aim to further develop a holistic skin solution portfolio.

The partnership with Earle is a key component of a broader effort by Hero to increase brand awareness. This year, the brand will expand on the “Pimple, Meet Your Mighty Patch” campaign it debuted on social and streaming platforms last year, which reportedly drove a sales lift of up to 11.4 percent at key retailers.

“The amount of people who took the time to watch those spots was off the chart,” said Rhyu, adding that the brand’s core consumer is women between the ages of 18 to 35. “Brand recall for Hero, but also Mighty Patch, is very high, and we’re going to double down on [the series] with different scenarios.”

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