Sleep…

Pictures taken from various sources. This project is part of Master in Branding of the School of Visual Arts. The team members are Tara Chen, Ina Dimitrova, Kristina Ermolenko, Michelle Kwiatkowski, Christine Shin, and myself. Class conducted by Ken Carbone from Carbone Smolan.

Aesop is a beauty brand that is guided by respect, creativity, excellence, passion, and integrity as their core values. Their niche consumers appreciate their carefully selected ingredients and unified package design. Aesop pays attention to the retail experience through elegant interior design and unique customers engagement. Their in-store retail sales make 65% of the whole revenue.

In beauty and cosmetic market, Aesop faces many competitions and imitators. The brand needs to look outside the beauty industry while maintaining the core principle of the company to differentiate themselves.

What kind of product that Aesop could potentially create to differentiate themselves in the market while maintaining their core principles?

We looked at trends in beauty and innovation to identify new arena for Aesop to enter. Coming from brand audit, we found out that Aesop products respond to the genuine needs of their customers. We also looked at the most current customer’s needs through news, startups trend, and self-observation.

We found out that the sleep industry is the next big thing. As sleep becoming the new luxury in this busy world, there are new products and technology that help people get the rest they need. McKinsey said that the sleep-health industry is estimated to be worth between $30-$40 billion, 8% growth yearly.

40 million Americans suffer from long-term diseases due to sleep problems.

28% of missed work, and errors arise from sleep issues.

$16 billion have been added to national health care costs from lack of sleep.

By entering the sleep industry, not only Aesop will generate more revenue, but they also fulfill the customer’s need by promoting beauty through healthy and balanced sleep.

Sleeping patch is one of the product we purpose for this line. As a new and growing technology, the health patches industry itself is projected to grow by 89% in 5 years.

The other two products we purposed as part of the sleep line are Sleep Mist for pillow and bedding and Wake Up Oil for energizing morning beverages.

We recommend promoting these products beyond the shelf by giving them more exposure at places where people need sleep; such as airport lounges, hotels, and airplanes. This strategy will provide Aesop a chance to partner with other brands outside their industry.