Introduction: Mario Badescu, the New-York based skincare brand created in a New York City apartment in the late 1960s, is on a mission in travel retail.
Its TFWA World Exhibition debut earlier this month not only heralded the brand’s entrance into the channel, it also underlined its aim to disrupt the beauty category by offering reasonably priced, simply packaged skincare solutions.
The Moodie Davitt Report’s Colleen Morgan met the Mario Badescu team, led by brothers Alan, Jack and Joseph Cabasso in Cannes. She talks with Mario Badescu President Joseph Cabasso.
Can you tell us about the history of Mario Badescu, the man, and the brand?
It all began in a New York City apartment. Mario Badescu, originally from Romania, was a chemist and aesthetician who moved to NYC in the early 1960s and opened his first NYC salon out of that same apartment. Today, we are still at the same location, but it has grown from two rooms to a 36-room salon.
Mario Badescu made all his products in his Manhattan apartment which is where he created the iconic Drying Lotion which remains a bestseller.
In 1984, the brand was acquired by my father Morise Cabasso, the brand’s CEO. To this day he still has a strong hands-on presence and has continued to ensure we keep the original values and traditions of the brand alive. We craft every formula around soothing botanicals, fresh fruit extracts and with customer concern in mind.
We offer more than 150 products which aim to cater to every skin type and concern. The products are all made in the USA, and mixed in-house, by us.
It is as Mario Badescu left off, just on a bigger scale.
Mario Badescu products have been known and trusted for generations, supported by celebrities, and the children of people who have been using the brand for decades. We are in it for the long-run, and we’ve got three generations of ‘faces’ to prove it.
We try to make our products very affordable. I don’t know other brands where you could get a full regimen for under US$100. We do that for a very big reason. We believe quality effective skincare should be affordable.
Mario Badescu is a relative newcomer to travel retail. How important is the channel in its overall business and why is the brand suited to travel retail?
We started in travel retail a year ago, collaborating with DFS and International Shoppes at selected US airport locations.
Mario Badescu is one of the featured brands in the DFS Group beauty concept store which opened at John F. Kennedy International Airport Terminal 4 in May. It spotlights trending and niche brands and for us its going really well.
Being seen in travel retail is an important step for us. People seek our skincare products, and we are excited to deliver the same excellence to travelling consumers.
The brand is suited to travel retail for many reasons. A lot of people already know it, through word-of-mouth recommendations and, of course, social media and TikTok. They know our quality and what to expect.
That said, maybe we will surprise them in travel retail. We aim to disrupt the beauty category, to offer an alternative to the brands which are the mainstays in airports and on cruise ships. We have something for everyone. We want people to know and understand that good beauty products can be affordable.
What regional markets is Mario Badescu targeting?
We are expanding globally, currently we are in 74 countries. As a brand I know we could touch the entire world, which includes travel retail.
What products will Mario Badescu offer exclusively to travel retail? Are there any other new products in the pipeline?
Each market is different, but we typically add our best sellers to every market we enter. Products like Drying Lotion, Facial Sprays, Lip Mask and Seaweed Night Cream to name a few.
There are always new products in the pipeline, our most recent launch is our Hydrating Glow Toner with Jojoba & PHA. It’s like a toner and a face serum combined and so far, we’ve got a lot of good feedback.
Let’s consider the brand’s commitment to price consistency. How difficult is that in present times and what is its significance to customers?
We maintain a policy to try our best not to increase our prices. And if we ever had to increase prices it would be very minimal.
Mario Badescu enjoys a strong following of celebrities. What makes it so appealing to high-profile individuals and what is the brand’s approach to the everyday travellers, in particular Gen Z and millennials?
We have long enjoyed a strong following of celebrities. Celebrities and influencers talk about us because they organically use and appreciate the brand. We’ve built the business on word of mouth and our products have been passed down from generation to generation.
What is the brand’s approach to sustainability? And how is it getting that message across to travelling consumers?
We have always supported the idea that less packaging is better. We try our best to avoid any unnecessary additions in our packaging to reduce waste. All our packaging is designed to be easily recyclable.
We’re always on the lookout for new technologies that make sense for both our customers and the environment. What I mean is some bioplastics and plastic alternatives, while claiming to be eco-friendly, end up in landfills because they aren’t easily recyclable especially in the USA. By keeping our packaging simple, we increase the chances of it being recycled and used for something else. 
