BoF Masterclass | How to Launch and Grow a Hero Product

Despite the fast pace of makeup, skin care and haircare launches, it’s the brands with iconic, best-in-class products that dominate categories season after season. Hero products, or best-sellers, often account for up to 30 percent of a beauty brand’s revenue, however, the long-lasting success of a hero product hinges on the quality of its formula, timing and a bit of luck.

The Business of Beauty’s Priya Rao, along with Too Faced Cosmetics’ global brand president Tara Simon and Tarte Cosmetics’ chief executive Maureen Kelly, will unpack how brands’ best-sellers became heroes that scaled into volume- and revenue-driving franchises.

Watch on demand here:

Background

Despite the rapid pace of beauty launches, it’s often the standby hero products that continue to dominate season after season, accounting for up to 30 percent of a beauty brand’s revenue. But turning a product into a hero isn’t an overnight task — their long-term potential hinges on the quality of its formula, timing and a bit of luck.

“The heroes are helpful … because they keep the lights on,” said Tara Simon, global brand president at Too Faced Cosmetics. “It will help pay for all the other crazy things you might want to do that don’t make sense on paper.”

On the latest BoF Professional Masterclass, Priya Rao, executive editor of The Business of Beauty sits down with Too Faced Cosmetics’ global brand president Tara Simon and Tarte Cosmetics’ chief executive Maureen Kelly to unpack how brands’ best-sellers became heroes that scaled into volume- and revenue-driving franchises.

Key Insights

• In a crowded beauty environment with a challenging retail landscape, creating a hero product is more difficult than ever. With launches happening everyday, customer expectations are higher and are demanding the best of the best. “A hero has to rank in the top three of that category, and you have to be making a lot of money from these,” said Simon.
• But the potential of a strong hero product is limitless: The financial success of a hero product can buoy brands to pay for other innovations and expansions. That being said, it needs to be designed for a mass audience. “You can’t have a hero that doesn’t work in half the countries of the world,” Simon added.
• The best hero products are replenishable, as repeat consumers are likely to become loyal consumers who become evangelists for the brand, but they should also fill a market gap. “The gap for Too Faced was mascara that added volume,” said Simon. And since “mascara is something you put on every day,” the product-market fit skyrocketed the product to popularity.
• When considering how to leverage a hero product into a franchise, brands need to ensure that new products carry the status of being the best in the category before slapping on the label. “We’ve seen a lot of brands bastardise their hero product and their value and consumer trust plummets. Less is more and brands have to be really selective and find that balance,” said Kelly.