Introduction: For Clarins, travel retail’s role as a discovery and consumer recruitment channel is shaping an agenda centred on hybrid beauty innovation, distinctive exclusives and personalised advice.
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes, Clarins General Manager Katalin Berenyi discusses how the family-owned company’s long-term approach and commitment to listening to consumers help it navigate a changing beauty landscape.
Central to that strategy is Double Serum Foundation, which extends the brand’s flagship skincare franchise into makeup and helps drive growth in the category. Berenyi examines the technology behind the launch and the role of beauty advisor training in translating product innovation into meaningful consumer experiences.
The conversation also explores the evolution of travel retail exclusives (TREX) beyond value sets as well as emerging opportunities in cruise and Asia Pacific.
The Moodie Davitt Report: How important is travel retail to the overall Clarins business?
Katalin Berenyi: Travel retail has always been critical to Clarins. It is a major discovery channel where many consumers encounter brands for the first time.
The channel also brings us close to consumers and their needs when travelling. It is a significant business for us because it is global. Clarins has 28 subsidiaries and operates in more than 50 countries, while travel retail is a worldwide business by definition.
How is Clarins responding to the changing beauty landscape in travel retail?
Change is happening everywhere, in domestic markets and travel retail. There is not necessarily more change in travel retail; the changes are simply different.
As a family company, we are able to think long term. Even during COVID, we were careful not to overstock and had a balanced approach to the business.
We closely monitor changes and develop relevant projects, including sense of place concepts, small souvenirs and region-specific assortments that consumers cannot find elsewhere.
Listening to consumers is the foundation of Clarins. More than 70 years ago, our Founder Jacques Courtin-Clarins said: “Success is simple: listen to consumers and give them what they want.”
Of course, listening is not always easy. You need to look beyond the words, observe consumers and use your intuition. Travel retail is a very agile distribution channel for us, supported by an agile team. It is one of the best examples of how we respond to change.
The Double Serum Foundation was Clarins’ biggest campaign in travel retail. How did this campaign build on the success of Double Serum?
Double Serum is now in its ninth generation. When we have something unique, we retain it and develop new generations as technology evolves, it is a permanent innovation for us.
Double Serum Foundation was a natural extension. I have always believed that complexion products are moving towards colour skincare.
Consumers want a less cakey, more natural finish, alongside skincare benefits. Even when applying foundation, they want it to be good for their skin.
We had Double Serum’s dual-chamber technology, with its one-third and two-thirds proportions, which delivers a fresh mix with every pump.
That technology took a long time to develop, and we wanted to apply it to a colour product.
The Double Serum Foundation launch was worldwide, apart from the USA, which is launching now. We are very pleased with its performance. It has been successful across markets, for different reasons and with different shades.
The visibly hybrid nature of the product – the fact that consumers can see the skincare within it – is what I believe beauty consumers want today.
Skinification, which refers to adding skincare ingredients to colour/haircare/suncare products, has become a prominent beauty trend. What distinguishes Double Serum Foundation’s approach?
There is a lot of marketing around skinification. Sometimes a product is described that way simply because it contains hyaluronic acid or another ingredient.
Double Serum Foundation was a complex innovation. When I asked the teams to develop a foundation or complexion product based on Double Serum technology, they initially looked at me as though I was crazy. Then they became interested, explored the possibilities and came back with this product. My reaction was: “Wow, you did it.”
For me, this is what hybrid makeup means. The skincare is visible and forms a distinct phase within the product. It goes beyond adding an ingredient and describing the result as skinification.
What role did beauty advisors and the point-of-sale experience play in bringing that innovation to life?
Our beauty advisors and coaches are some of our biggest strengths.
I believe we have some of the best skincare training in the world for beauty advisors. Training has always been integral within Clarins. It is something we take very seriously.
Our passionate, well-trained beauty advisors can assist consumers on both skincare and makeup. That was probably one of the reasons why, from the beginning, we were selling Double Serum alongside Double Serum Foundation. They are a perfect match.
Alongside the strong visuals, the product presentation and the different complexion shades we showcased, the quality of advice and the experience at the point-of-sale were important.
How important are TREX products to the Clarins business today and how is your approach evolving?
TREXs are extremely important because this is a discovery channel. Travellers who have time at the airport may want to learn something new. They are often either rushing or looking for something to do.
For those ready to discover, we need to offer newness continually. Products should be relevant to their travelling lifestyle, whether they are going away for a weekend or a week, and complement their journey.
However, the TREX business is changing. Previously, the focus was on value sets: consumers could buy two products and benefit from a price advantage, which was relevant at the time.
Today, it is an important business in its own right and a way to recruit consumers into the wider travel retail category. Creating new stories and exclusive sets is a very interesting and exciting part of the business for us.
A bigger splash for TREXSharing her insights on the Clarins TREX strategy, Global Marketing Director Travel Retail Sandrine Tesnière says: “TREXs have always been important to Clarins, but they were presented more discreetly. On the shelf, consumers would find the individual products within a franchise, followed by the exclusive set connected to it. That made them easy to shop. “More recently, we needed to make exclusives more visible. We have created a new identity that clearly signals these products are available only in this channel, with strong visual cues and a clear narrative. “We have also become more impulse-driven. Alongside the new core packaging identity, we have introduced a range of impulse exclusives designed for use on the go. Bright colours and storytelling help them stand out.” |
Where do you see the greatest opportunities to develop the Clarins product portfolio?
We optimise the portfolio continuously. It is a process of fine-tuning and regular housekeeping.
We had a very large portfolio, but people consume differently now. They do not necessarily use the same products, and they are buying different ones. Shelf space cannot keep expanding, so we continually review the assortment.
We will definitely strengthen makeup, which we think is the next growth engine.
Double Serum Foundation is a game changer for us. We have effectively doubled our forecasts compared with the original plan, and everything develops from there.
With Clarins already established globally, where do you see further opportunities within travel retail?
One of the positive surprises in recent years has been cruise, particularly in the Americas.
It is an interesting channel because guests have time. They may spend a week on a ship; they are relaxed, ready to discover something new and happy to be surprised. That is where we work very well.
We are developing cruise as a strategic opportunity and adapting our approach. For example, by bringing our makeup artists onboard.
Travel retail is becoming a more complete strategy for us across airports, downtown, airlines and cruise. We go where the client is, and our clients are on cruises.
We also want to expand in Asia. With the breakthrough of Double Serum Foundation, we see significant opportunities in a category where we are under-represented. For example, China is the number one country for Double Serum Foundation, even though we are a latecomer to the category.
What are your main priorities for the year ahead?
One of the biggest priorities is balancing Double Serum Foundation with the other categories and using its success to support the wider makeup business.
Our intention was to create an icon. Double Serum is an icon in skincare, and much of the category is organised around it.
We now have a new moisturiser icon, Extra-Firming. It is recent, but it has been a huge success. There was a deliberate strategy to establish one major moisturiser, rather than simply offer several different products.
We are taking the same approach with Double Serum Foundation. It is growing very quickly, and we need to build on that success to develop the whole makeup category. That will be an important priority for us next year. ✈
