After years of steady growth, the global cosmetics market declined by 8% in 2020, as detailed in a report by market research firm Statista. This is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For indie skincare brand Cotardo, the pandemic was especially devastating because the company makes and sells products specifically for travelers.
Today, Cotardo is still a thriving company in the skin care field. In an exclusive interview with Danuta Dudek, co-founder and researcher at Cotardo LLC, his Perron Ph.D., MA in Cosmetics to His Design, we gain insight into how this brand became so successful. As we navigate COVID-19, we will pivot to different areas within the beauty care industry as we navigate the pandemic.
CDU: Can you describe what your business was like before the 2020 pandemic?
Dr. Danuta Dudek Peron (DDP): We launched Cotarde in 2017 after three years of research and development as the first skincare brand exclusively for travelers. In terms of the level of response to our brand, we have been quite successful, with the brand winning three major international awards within its first year of operation, and every product we have launched since then has won awards. did.
Some might say we have become one of those rising stars. This, along with influencer and journalist coverage, has brought us some great corporate partners to work with.
We partnered with Athleta, part of the GAP Group, which focuses on the needs of active women. We entered the aviation industry with the first fully compostable product through a marketing campaign across the U.S. with Delsea (the second largest luggage manufacturer) and a great partnership with Alvea. Ta.
We provided products online directly to hotels, small boutiques, and airlines.
Our customers love Cotarde for its unique design combined with an environmentally friendly approach (which was a hot topic in the travel industry at the time) and, of course, multifunctional products targeted to their day-to-day transportation needs. I loved you.
I personally wanted a product that would help me look good no matter where I am or what time zone I am in. That was the beginning.
CDU: What was the impact of the 2020 pandemic on your business?
DDP: The pandemic has changed everything. Of course, this has been a huge change in the industry and the way we do business, so not just for us, but for its prospects as well, especially as it relates to any kind of travel.
Suddenly, there were no contracts to look at, and certainly no contracts to sign. Everything stopped. To make matters worse, almost all of our business partners started going out of business, were laid off, moved to other lines of business, or sold.
Not only will you lose sales channels and consumer interest, but you will also lose your backbone, your supply chain. It was difficult to understand the speed of change.
The good news is that we were able to get out of this situation without making any further commitments and were able to move on relatively smoothly. If the pandemic had hit us a few weeks later, it would have been even more dramatic for us as a company, as we were planning a major production scale-up at the time.
CDU: What happened to the Cotardo brand since the 2020 pandemic? What did you do to bring it back and how successful was it?
DDP: Back in the summer of 2020, we knew things weren’t going to change anytime soon, but with the coronavirus still wreaking havoc around the world, we had to find a way. It was. A way out of that came naturally in a way.
Although the coronavirus has halted people’s movement, it has accelerated certain skin problems and increased people’s personal interest in curing them. Many people wanted to feel better or look better on Zoom during lockdown.
Someone asked me if there was anything I could do to address the skin issues they were having. I said, “No, it’s not…but you can have it.” That’s how we launched personalized skin care, tailored to people’s individual needs.
Our journey has turned into a journey for our customers, from me wanting to fix my skin condition to helping my clients fix their skin condition. We also physically approached our loyal local consumer base, primarily on the East Coast of the United States, as opposed to the usual social media-focused approach of brands these days.
This traditional method has allowed us to effectively scale up this part of the business, and we are currently fully committed to it. While we plan to release our bestsellers (the formulas our customers most need and desire), our personalized approach will continue.
CDU: As a beauty brand owner, what have you learned from the 2020 pandemic?
DDP: The impact for us was especially strong, given that we were crossing the line between the beauty and travel industries. In the intervening years, we built a dynamic startup from scratch, and we bounced back super fast once again. It was difficult to understand.
But in the end, it turned out to be a pretty humbling experience. We are more mature and grateful that we had the ability to survive this strange time. we are lucky. Ultimately, we emerged as a more consumer-oriented business than just a B2C online brand.
I have always wanted to have a successful business, large or small. After everything I’ve been through, I’m even less interested in being one of the hyped trendy brands out there than I was before. In most cases, it’s unsustainable and many brands (and brand owners) simply burn out.
CDU: How do you plan to take your business forward? How much has your vision changed now?
DDP: We want to build it one step at a time and not get confused by hype. We want to be down to earth (just kidding) and make sure we serve each customer well.
One thing that hasn’t changed in our vision is our environmental consciousness. I feel responsible for every product we launch. I want them to be constructed precisely, whether in formulation or packaging, reducing the chance of potential waste in the form of thoughtless production, mass returns, or frequent product re-launch. I hope that.
Our travels are closely connected to our customers’ lives. We tailor formulations to your needs and offer the option to reuse packaging to minimize waste.
As a brand, we will soon be unveiling new ways for our customers to get exactly the products they need. As producers, we want to make a tangible difference to the people who use our products, while significantly reducing our impact on the environment. I feel the weight of this commitment.
