Recently, Abby’s Choice, a skincare brand owned by Chinese cosmetics company Yatsen E-commerce, reached cooperation with channel marketing service provider YIFEI GROUP. In 2018, Abby’s Choice began to launch products and in 2020 it was officially unveiled, with its star single product “CERAMIDE REPAIRING MASK” exceeding 100,000 in sales volume in the first month. In 2020, it participated in the Double Eleven shopping festival for the first time, with a turnover exceeding 10 million yuan (more than $1.51 million) for 33 minutes.
Founded in 2005, YIFEI GROUP is an outstanding digital and intelligent ecological service enterprise in China’s beauty industry committed to providing beauty industry chain partners with omnichannel marketing services, industrial platform services, supply chain services, digital intelligence services, brand investment incubation, and other 5 major section services. At present, the group has obtained the authorization and cooperation of about 60 brands such as AHC, Neutrogena and Dr.Yu at home and abroad.
According to the official website of the Yatsen E-commerce, Abby’s Choice was prepared in 2018, which is a skincare brand specially created by senior beauty consultant Abby, the professional dermatologists and formulators for the repair of young skin. Its star products include the ceramide series, “MOISTURISING GLOWING MASK” and “GENTLE SOFT CLEANSING BALM”.
Different from traditional brands, Abby’s Choice was born from the insight of the beauty consultant team of Yatsen E-commerce on the needs of users. He Yifei, the head of R& D of Yatsen E-commerce, said that many users have feedback in their exchanges with the team that they have been plagued by skin problems such as dryness, seasonal sensitivity and oil pox, but they can not find suitable products on the market that can solve these problems. Therefore the team began to seek a solution to the skin problem.
The R&D team judged that the root cause of the problem was the damage to the skin barrier. In order to repair the damaged skin, the team decided to use ceramides. After comparing dozens of suppliers, Yatsen E-commerce chose to co-create products with Intercos skincare R&D department, the only global manufacturer in the industry. By using patented technology to synthesize the ceramide compound essence of exclusive scientific ratio and more than 100 core formula adjustments, the “ceramide Raspberry Leaf Extract” was successfully developed by Abby’s Choice after 14 months of painstaking work.
Taking this as a starting point, the team decided to create a brand and named the brand’s English name Abby’s Choice after Abby, the first senior beauty consultant who joined the team, to represent the brand’s original intention of catering for the user’s beauty needs.
In October 2018, Yatsen E-commerce launched the product of Abby’s Choice for the first time. On June 8, 2020, Yatsen E-commerce officially released the Abby’s Choice brand, targeting young college students and white-collar women aged from 18 to 28, with a product line covering skincare, makeup, personal care and beauty equipment, etc. Abby’s Choice flagship store on Tmall was set up and two physical stores Guangzhou Zhengjia Plaza store and Chengdu Chunxi Road store were set up as well.
On June 12, 2020, on the fifth day of the official debut of Abby’s Choice, China’s top male star YiBo was officially announced on Weibo that he had become the spokesperson of the brand’s mask.
It is understood that the unit price of Abby’s Choice products is not high, with the price ranging from about $6 to $48. Its target users are mainly young college students and white-collar women aged from 18 to 28. The reason why the brand chose YiBo as a spokesperson is his strong influence and wide recognition among young people.
Abby’s Choice is backed by the support of the parent company Yatsen E-commerce and blessed by the top star. In November 2020, it participated in the Double Eleven shopping festival for the first time, which was its official appearance in less than half a year, with the turnover exceeding 10 million yuan (more than $1.51 million) during 33 minutes and the total sales revenue during the event exceeding 35 million yuan (more than $5.29 million).
The star product “CERAMIDE REPAIRING MASK” was sold more than 100,000 pieces in the first month of its launch and won the “Best Moisturizing Mask” award in the summer list of the 2020 International Beauty Awards in Harper’s BAZAAR. In 2020, the “CERAMIDE REPAIRING MASK” was sold a total of 800,000 boxes across all channels.
Although the momentum of Abby’s Choice is good, its parent company Yatsen E-commerce is in having difficulty. First of all, in terms of performance, the net loss in 2021 reached $243 million. Followed by a stock price below $1, Yatsen E-commerce received a warning of the trading delisting of the New York Stock Exchange. At present, it is not clear whether the plight of the parent company will have a direct and large impact on Abby’s Choice, but from the perspective of the brand’s cooperation with YIFEI GROUP, the brand is still trying to develop.
