Executive at Armani, Fresh beauty and president of Atelier Cologne, when these shining titles converge on Gerard Camme, despite his new identity as the founder of the skincare brand Element Eight, which was established only a year ago, there is undoubtedly more trust and expectation from the outside world towards Gerard and his new brand than towards other entrepreneurs who started from scratch.
Perhaps it is precisely because of Gerard’s nearly 20 years of executive experience in the high-end beauty industry that Element Eight, from its inception, has gathered top resources in the industry. Not only are the executives from the high-end beauty and retail sectors, but it has also attracted 16 senior experts from fields such as dermatology, spinal surgery, and biomaterials. In the relatively inactive global consumer product financing of 2023, Element Eight received a total investment of $8.2 million.
When our team CHAILEEDO’s US Beauty Tour interviewed Gerard face to face and asked him, “After entering the beauty industry for 20 years and already creating a successful perfume brand, what sparked your passion for starting a new business again?” Gerard replied, “Because I want to create a unique brand, not a replica of other brands.”
Element Eight
The uniqueness of Element Eight is evident from its English name. Element Eight refers to the eighth element on the periodic table, oxygen. This not only represents the core concept of the brand but also its brand vision: to incorporate the technological achievements of oxygen therapy into the field of skincare.
Why create a skincare brand related to oxygen? It all starts with Gerard’s background.
Prior to 2004, Gerard held an executive position at Armani fashion company. In 2004, he joined the luxury conglomerate LVMH as the Vice President of the Fresh brand, officially entering the beauty industry. Later, he participated in the establishment of the niche perfume brand Atelier Cologne and served as its president. Atelier Cologne was acquired by the L’Oréal group in 2016, and Gerard worked there for five years until 2021.
When asked about his decision to leave L’Oréal, Gerard explained that when an independent brand is acquired by a large conglomerate, the conglomerate tends to intervene in the brand’s operations and future development, making it difficult for the brand to maintain its independence. Gerard candidly said, “I wanted my brand to have more innovation, and this is often something that large companies cannot fulfill.”
During his five years at L’Oréal, Gerard’s greatest gain was not only meeting Jake Galtere, who currently serves as the CMO of Element Eight and had previously held executive positions as VP Marketing for a number of leading fragrance brands including Ralph Lauren, but also meeting scientist Dr. Bradley Patt, who is also one of the founders of Element Eight. It was Brad who introduced Gerard to their team of scientists and their latest application of oxygen in spinal surgery.
The technology that Dr. Patt was proud of is the source of Element Eight’s proprietary technology OATH™: Oxygen Amplification Therapy.” It is known that this technology was originally applied towards spinal surgery. Typically, after removing the damaged part in spinal surgery, bone fibers and bone graft materials are used for reconstruction. Eventually, new tissues grow blood vessels to enhance blood flow, making the blood environment healthier. However, this reconstruction process usually takes many weeks to complete. In order to accelerate this process, the team developed a patented technology that they showed could facilitate the successful completion of the reconstruction five times faster. Oxygen plays a crucial role in accelerating the reconstruction process by effectively promoting cell metabolism, healing injuries, facilitating cell repair, and rejuvenation.
Gerard still remembers Brad’s excitement when he mentioned that this technology might have enormous potential in the skincare field.
An encounter in a dermatologists chair shifted the focus of the Element Eight team to skincare. Supported by clinical evidence and academic validation, a decade of research and development commenced to encapsulate OATH™ in skincare.
With his in-depth understanding of the beauty industry, Gerard realized that an opportunity for a luxury, science backed skincare brand had arrived. “This is an untapped area in the beauty industry,” he said. Therefore, after leaving L’Oréal, Gerard joined Brad as CEO of Element Eight, a brand with oxygen skincare as its core concept.
“Medical Skincare” Receives Significant Attention
In fact, Element Eight, which emerged in its prime, arrived at the perfect time when functional skincare was prevailing globally.
As consumers’ interest in skincare ingredients and skin sensitivity continues to grow, the global skincare market is gradually moving towards specialization and scientific development. Brands with professional scientific backgrounds and research capabilities are more competitive in the market, and skincare brands with medical backgrounds are particularly noteworthy.
At the same time, global beauty giants have also turned their attention to brands with medical backgrounds. According to L’Oréal’s latest financial report, its Dermatology Cosmetics division achieved a year-on-year growth of 28.7% in the first nine months of 2023, reaching a historic high. In 2022, Shiseido acquired Gallinee, founded by a French pharmaceutical doctor. In September 2023, LVMH announced the acquisition of Eighth Day, a skincare brand founded by a dermatologist. And in late December, Shiseido announced the acquisition of the high-end dermatological skincare brand DR. Dennis Gross Skincare (DDG) from the United States.
Element Eight, on the other hand, only officially launched in November 2022 and is not even two years old. However, in the past year, Element Eight has successfully raised $8.2 million in funding. Gerard candidly admitted to CHAILEEDO’s US Beauty Tour that Element Eight’s appeal to investors lies in its strong medical background, clear market positioning, and unique patented technology.
He explained that, similar to the trends in the Chinese skincare market, the American market is also moving towards professionalism and scientific direction. Consumers are more inclined to choose brands with medical backgrounds, and Element Eight happens to capture this trend. The brand’ was developed by a multi-expert team of 16 MD-PHDs, including spine surgeons, biomaterials engineers, dermatologists and clinical researchers who remain engaged as board members or advisors, ensuring Element Eight continues to innovate and lead in oxygen therapy for the skin. Such a combination is outstanding in the global cosmetics industry.
Furthermore, Element Eight’s research has found that the oxygen content in human skin gradually decreases with age. By the age of 40, the oxygen content in the skin can decrease by up to 60%. To address the aging issues caused by skin hypoxia, Element Eight incorporates the Oxygen Amplified Therapy (OATHTM) into its skincare products. Gerard explained that this innovative technology mimics the function of hemoglobin, precisely delivering a large amount of oxygen to the skin’s deep layer, 700 micrometers deep, significantly improving signs of skin aging caused by hypoxia.
In addition to this unique patented technology, Element Eight’s products also incorporate other functional ingredients such as peptides and hyaluronic acid. Oxygen delivery improves the health of the cellular environment and improves the efficacy of any active in a skincare routine “Our products contain peptides, squalane, or hyaluronic acid, and through our special oxygen formula, we can significantly enhance the effectiveness of these ingredients,” added Gerard.
He explained that the application of oxygen in skincare products is extremely challenging, but Element Eight overcomes this by incorporating a special medical-grade ingredient to deliver oxygen deep into the skin. To ensure that the oxygen does not leak, the products feature a unique small bag sealing design. This allows Element Eight’s products to provide oxygen concentrations 10 to 20 times higher than similar products.
Currently, the brand’s main focus is on O2 Niacinamide Eight Active Serum, a multitasking innovation ($325). The product portfolio includes the multitasking O2 Caffeine Eight Active Eye Cream ($175) and three targeted treatment moisturizers, each priced at $250, making them high-priced skincare products in the United States (equivalent to approximately 1800 yuan). In addition to the products, Element Eight has also launched a comprehensive oxygen facial treatment program, currently available only in plastic surgery, dermatologist, and medical aesthetics clinics and Element Eight stores. Gerard stated that although this service is relatively niche, it is showing strong growth. “In the post-pandemic era, consumers prefer to choose professional and in-depth skincare services in physical stores.”
Not Just Oxygen Skincare
According to Research And Markets’ “Global High-end Beauty Market Report 2023,” the global high-end beauty market reached an astonishing $87.89 billion in 2021 and is expected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of 5.56% over the next five years.
As the world’s largest cosmetics market and the largest high-end cosmetics market, the United States is a battleground for high-end brands. Gerard, who has been in the high-end beauty industry for nearly 20 years, clearly understands this.
When choosing sales channels in the early stages, considering Element Eight’s upscale positioning, Gerard decided not to enter mass-market channels such as Ulta and drugstores, but instead chose to collaborate with high-end retail stores. Currently, Element Eight’s main sales channels are high-end medical aesthetic clinics and high-end department stores, such as renowned American luxury department stores Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and others. Additionally, a quarter of the brand’s sales come from its official website. It is worth mentioning that the recent addition of former Sephora CEO Martin Brok as an Advisory Board member has further fueled the expansion of Element Eight’s high-end beauty retail channels.
Gerard revealed that this year, the brand will also enter the Hong Kong market in China.
Facing the Chinese mainland market, which is second only to the United States in the beauty industry, Gerard also showed a keen interest. When asked about “how to view the challenges faced by many niche European and American brands in China in recent years,” Gerard told CHAILEEDO that they would do their homework and understand the relevant regulations and consumer demands before entering the Chinese market. Gerard stated that Chinese consumers now place great importance on functional skincare, which aligns well with Element Eight’s brand philosophy.
“Chinese high-end consumers use seven different skincare products in their daily skincare routine, which is completely different from the United States, where consumers may only use 2-3 products,” Gerard shared when discussing the differences between Chinese and American consumers. “This is an opportunity for our brand.”
In fact, when entering different markets, Element Eight conveys to consumers the concept that the skin’s surface actually loses oxygen. In addition to collagen and moisture loss, oxygen also depletes from the skin. The loss of collagen in the skin is actually a manifestation of the loss of oxygen and slowed metabolism. Therefore, Element Eight advocates delivering oxygen to the skin first and then supplying collagen or other active ingredients.
However, in the Chinese market, consumers tend to be more focused on collagen or retinol, which have already been extensively marketed, and have relatively limited knowledge about oxygen skincare. How to convey the brand philosophy to Chinese consumers is a challenge for Element Eight. Regarding this, Gerard confidently said, “The core of the Element Eight brand is not just oxygen but also professionalism and technology. Moreover, Chinese consumers’ acceptance of medical aesthetic services is increasing, which aligns perfectly with the future development direction of our brand.” He also revealed that at a recent gathering in France, top Key Opinion Leader on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), Zhang Xiaohui, showed interest in Element Eight, and the two parties have preliminary intentions to collaborate.
It is understood that in just over a year since its establishment, Element Eight has achieved cumulative sales of nearly $1 million. Gerard revealed that the brand spent a lot of time in the early stages to establish channels and build strong customer relationships, and the brand’s performance in the fourth quarter of 2023 showed significant improvement compared to the previous three quarters.
In the final interview, when asked if they are considering seeking acquisition by a major company in the future, Gerard sighed, “We can never predict the future. When we started Atelier Cologne before, our original intention was just to build a perfume brand. We just wanted to do it well. I believe Element Eight will be my lifelong career.”
