Introduction: “We have a formula; beauty is our business and we stay in our lane,” says On The Mark Founder Mark Brewer as he reflects on the winning formula that has helped the company grow from a one-man operation ten years ago to the niche beauty specialist it is today.
Over the past ten years, the company has established itself as a leader in bringing innovative, niche beauty brands into travel retail.
From overcoming major setbacks including a warehouse fire and navigating the pandemic, to achieving remarkable commercial success with brands such as Egyptian Magic and Tan Luxe, Brewer has steered the company with a relentlessly forward-thinking approach.
Looking back at the peaks and troughs of the last ten years, Brewer recounts: “It is the measure of a person or business how you manage in these situations. On The Mark Beauty has not only survived but thrived despite these challenges, and more importantly, we are agile and have learnt how to adapt and change when a crisis hits.”
In this interview with The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan, he discusses the evolution of On The Mark Beauty, the changing landscape of travel retail and his vision for the future of the business.
Congratulations on your ten-year anniversary. What does it feel like reaching this milestone and what have been the biggest wins and challenges over the last decade?
I tend not to look back unnecessarily as the business has grown at such pace that our focus is always looking forward. That said, as we celebrate this milestone I’ve been reflecting on everything we’ve achieved and managed to overcome over the last decade and where we want to be in the next ten years.
My biggest achievement has been curating a fantastic team of highly skilled individuals that have an in-depth knowledge of the beauty and travel retail industries. The strength of our team has enabled us to bring some of the most innovative independent beauty brands into travel retail, such as Egyptian Magic, Tan Luxe, By Terry and Morphe – brands that bring us continued commercial success.
We have developed strong and effective relationships with our customers and noticeably over the last 18 months I have been complimented on the strength of the team at On the Mark Beauty.
The biggest challenges we faced? Obviously the pandemic was our greatest challenge, but we have faced many others over the years which are not so well-known.
In 2018 we suffered a huge fire in our warehouse on New Year’s Eve. We lost all our stock that night, but due to the strength of relationships with suppliers, we were back up and running within seven days.
It is the measure of a person or business how you manage in these situations. On The Mark Beauty has not only survived but thrived despite these challenges, and more importantly, we are agile and have learnt how to adapt and change when a crisis hits.
How did On The Mark Beauty begin and how has the company evolved in the last ten years?
On The Mark Beauty began when I was working with Egyptian Magic in the UK domestic market. I saw an opportunity to bring the product into travel retail and presented it to multiple airlines, securing our first listing on British Airways.
From then on, the Egyptian Magic brand has gone from strength to strength and continues to be a bestseller. Back in the day I was personally shrink-wrapping each item in my flat, stock piled high in my bedroom, and driving the stock to British Airways in my car. We have now sold over 2 million units of Egyptian Magic in travel retail.
The company has evolved by being able to spot independent beauty brands with exceptionally strong products. We know what works well in travel retail as the team has extensive knowledge in the sector – and we want to make it easy for buyers to select our products. We have a formula; beauty is our business and we stay in our lane.
How has the beauty landscape in travel retail changed in the last ten years?
Very early on, I identified a gap in the market within beauty in the travel retail sector. In the airline sector for example, I noticed that consumer trust had been eroded by a small number of brands that seemed to be ‘created’ for travel retail. These products often showed enormous savings versus high-street pricing. Although I am sure these created short-term volume gains, the long-term effect is that passenger trust is diminished when they research after the purchase. Therefore, they lose confidence and trust in both pricing and product quality – the long-term effect being fewer purchases.
Everyone in travel retail wants the sector to thrive for the benefit of all. We only work with real and credible independent brands, focusing on niche beauty. Niche is where much of the growth in the beauty sector has been for a few years now, so I guess we were ahead of our time.
Because travel retail tends to be behind the curve of the domestic market when it comes to trends, the industry is still so dominated by the beauty ‘giants’ who are slower to react to trends (or simply react by buying up niche brands who are in growth), so at On The Mark Beauty we do tend to be a step ahead. For example, this year we have launched Slickhair following popular hair-styling trends with celebrities such as Hailey Bieber and others.
Given the huge interest in our brands and our recent sales performance, I think the tide is finally turning and niche beauty is in demand and in the spotlight.
On The Mark Beauty is known for partnering with exciting and disruptive niche beauty brands. How do you find the right brands to partner with?
The On The Mark Beauty team has built an excellent reputation and extensive connections throughout the beauty industry, and this certainly helps us get the right brands on board. In terms of product selection, we always put ourselves in the passengers’ shoes. We follow the trends, and it starts from there.
The beauty industry is truly global, and we are regularly travelling to Europe, the USA and Australia to meet with up-and-coming brands as well as our existing suppliers.
The brands that we partner with must be innovative, have a strong identity and bring something special to the market. We always aim to work with the market leaders in their field. For example, Sand and Sky were pioneering the first pink clay mask from Australia; Alpha H were the pioneers of glycolic acids; and the list goes on.
What USPs do your brands offer in the travel retail channel?
Our brands offer credibility, innovation and convenience. We offer travel retail-exclusive sizes or sets with many of our brands.
Most importantly originality is key, and we only work with genuine brands established within the market and not created just for travel. While imitation is flattering to our success, the place for copycats is [supermarkets] Aldi and Lidl. Travellers deserve more, and as part of the beauty in travel retail we need to maintain credibility.
It’s not just the USPs that our brands have. On The Mark Beauty prides itself on its strong relationships with customers. We always go the extra mile to ensure we can help maximise sales, whether that be through crew training, online education or activations in stores. I feel there is a high level of transparency and trust between On The Mark Beauty and our long-term customers.
How do you think travel retail should evolve to meet the changing needs of beauty consumers and also recruit new customers?
Travel retail needs to be faster paced to catch up with the beauty market. Certainly in the beauty sector, travel can follow in the wake of the market and social media trends. To recruit new customers within the channel, we need to be recruiting the brands that are in demand today.
As well as understanding the ever-changing needs of the consumer, the purchasing journey will also need to evolve and adapt. I expect there will be a continued evolution in the different ways products can be purchased throughout the customer journey in travel retail. We all know pre-order has been a buzzword for years – there are ongoing trials where purchases are delivered to your gate before you board your flight.
I keep a close eye on these developments and am excited for the future.
What are your biggest priorities for the year ahead?
Our biggest priorities are to continue to deliver great on-trend products for our long-term customers, which can be done with both our existing brands and by onboarding new brands, and expanding the reach of our existing brands further within duty-free stores and cruise.
What do the next ten years hold for On The Mark Beauty?
I have some exciting short to medium-term goals as well as long-term goals with some big targets that we’re working towards.
My over-arching goal is ensuing that On The Mark Beauty continues to develop the infrastructure around the business to support our ambitious growth plans and hope that there are no more surprises in store like fires or pandemics. ✈
