eCommerce success: the story of Glossier (1)

In Oleoshop blog we have once explored the idea of creating a business from a blog. Today, we are going to show you that this apparently crazy idea can be a success - and as the story of Glossier, one of the biggest and most interesting cosmetic brands in the world today, proves it.

Glossier began as a side project in the form of a blog by a fashion assistant from Teen Vogue magazine. Do you want to know how it became an international company with a turnover of millions? Then read on, because in today's post we are going to tell you how Emily Weiss, its founder, did it.

There is no doubt that the personality of each founder leaves its mark on the personality of their business projects. 

For example, recently we talked about Blue Banana, a project in which, behind the brand, there is a tandem of young entrepreneurs whose lifestyle is practically synonymous with that of their brand. The same is true of brands with much more experience, such as Patagonia and its founder Yvon Chouinard; or more modern ones, such as Two Thirds and its founder Lutz Schwenke. 

In the case of Glossier, this aspect is no different; this company transpires the personality of Emily Weiss, its founder, from all four sides.

At 35 years old, Emily has long earned the right to be considered one of the most influential women in eCommerce worldwide. She has gained this deserved power of influence thanks to the decisions that have made her brand grow almost from nothing to the giant that she is today, capable of billing over 100 million dollars a year. 

It would be hard to imagine Glossier without Emily Weiss. It would probably be a totally different brand, because it is a project based on her own vision of the world of cosmetics.

The story of this "Teen Vogue" assistant who became a star blogger in the world of cosmetics may seem like the plot of a movie chosen at random from Cosmopolitan TV's catalog, but it is very real. 

Emily decided to undertake a parallel project while working on the famous publication edited by Condé Nast in 2010. She was passionate about her work, which kept her abreast of the latest trends and offered her many interesting contacts. A blog where she could talk and share her interest in the world of beauty with other interested fans seemed like a good and productive way to occupy her free time.

This is how the blog "Into the Gloss" came about, a blog about cosmetics with beauty tips and tricks in which Weiss and her readers shared how to make the most of their natural beauty with the existing cosmetic products in the market.

The blog was so successful that Weiss found herself working on it every day from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., just before starting his working day. In only 2 years, she managed to get the blog to reach the figure of 200,000 unique visitors per month, and 4 years later it was already well over a million.

Emily Weiss experienced firsthand the insight we just shared with you in the previous point.

Writing on the blog gave her a very deep understanding of the world of cosmetics, driven in part by her personal interest in the industry, in part by the feedback from the world's fans who commented on and interacted with "Into The Gloss", and in part by her personal ambition to make her side project bigger and more interesting than just a blog.

Thanks to this knowledge, she was able to detect the aspects in which existing cosmetic brands in the market fell short or did not meet the expectations of fans in the sector.

At the same time, she also realized a common problem: the audience increasingly felt that cosmetic brands were far from their daily reality, proposing beauty standards that were not only unattainable for most, but also not aspirational for many.

In the midst of all this, Weiss was leading - perhaps without knowing it - a generational relay. For the Millennials and Centennials to whom your brand is addressed, there is something more important than trying to achieve what you do not have: to be (and celebrate) what you are.

At this point, Weiss realized that he was up to something serious. "Into the Gloss" already had a legion of readers behind it who were potential clients, and the blog required so much work that, if she wanted to grow,s he saw that she would have to dedicate herself exclusively to it.

But it was no longer a blog she wanted to grow: in her mind she had been thinking for some time about what would become Glossier, a cosmetics firm that, with its slogan "Beauty products inspired by real life", made its positioning and scale of values very clear. 

In order to get the necessary financing to set up the project, Weiss turned to different investors. It was not easy, but when it finally got an investment of 2 million euros, it was finally able to consider the possibility of having a team of professionals and create its first range of products, which initially were only 4.

From then on, and thanks to a huge community that, thanks to the blog, was already very identified with the brand, everything was growing and growing: make-up, beauty treatments, skin care, perfumes... and even a line of clothes and accessories called GlossiWEAR.

Behind every product, every collection and every brand there has to be a concept that gives cohesion to what we sell and that defines us.

Within cosmetics, there are multiple niches in which to fight for a place. You can go to the luxury segment, bet on natural cosmetics or, as Glossier did, try to create your own positioning based on the detection of market shortcomings and the change in habits and self-perception of the public due to the generational shift.

We have already mentioned it above: Glossier's motto was, from the beginning, "Beauty products for real life". It was one of the first cosmetic and beauty brands aimed at a very young audience that made a clear commitment to the celebration of real beauty. 

The products of this company opted for natural beauty and skin care always above the appearance. They fled from the beginning of the overloaded styles that were so famous at the time, and went deeper into the idea of celebrating one's physical “defects" as unparalleled elements of personal beauty. Who hasn't seen these famous Glossier campaigns?

And now it is time to take a look at Glossier online store. The first thing to note is that, 4 years and many changes later, they are so faithful to the concept that we have just commented that this is what articulates the online store already from the home page.

As soon as we enter, they propose us new and featured products. This is almost standard within eCommerce; what we like is the simple and effective way of transferring another of their most famous taglines ("Skin first, makeup second, smile always") to the web. This is something that can be seen simply by scrolling, since the website presents the products in that order and with those headings. 

The design of the online store is simple, we could almost say minimalist; but do not let it fool you, because this website is very well thought out. We start from that immaculate white aspect to favor the relationship we make in an unconscious way between that color code and cleanliness and hygiene. 

As a curious detail in the design, we can comment the use of small animations when we pass the mouse over the images of the products. They can be images of the product application or simply show us how the package is creased as it is used. It adds dynamism to a product that is very static and gives a different touch to the web.

The product sheets also deserve a separate mention. First, for the way they present the content with very good descriptions. The copywriting work is really outstanding, highlighting the ingredients and the correct way to apply the product.

And secondly, because they make inclusiveness present in a transversal way throughout the site. Many product sheets, especially make-up, show images of how the product looks in different skin colors, ethnic groups and even ages.

Not all businesses can afford it, nor do many of them need it; but the truth is that retail is still a very effective weapon in some sectors. Especially in those where trying on the product or garment is still important, such as fashion and cosmetics.

It is difficult (not to say impossible) to transmit a smell or a texture through a digital medium. The good thing is that, once you have tried it, it is easier to decide, and in addition they are a type of products that make their users very loyal, so the recurrent purchase can be made online in a simple way.

Glossier has its own stores in the United States and a store in London that is currently closed due to coronavirus.  Its flagship store is located in New York and has become a place of pilgrimage for its customers. 

The careful decoration and the care that they put in every detail makes it an experience worth living for all fans of the brand.