How Antipodes took natural beauty products from an idea from New Zealand to Europe
How Antipodes took natural beauty products from an idea from New Zealand to Europe
From New Zealand to Europe, Antipodes connects customers with nutrient-rich and luxury beauty via Zalando.
From New Zealand to Europe, Antipodes connects customers with nutrient-rich and luxury beauty via Zalando.
Key figures:
+10
countries in 1 month
12
weeks to onboard
Introducing Antipodes
Calling all beauty enthusiasts - Antipodes is New Zealand’s Scientific Green Beauty™ brand, targeting customers from all walks of life with one common interest: results-driven, luxury skincare made with New Zealand’s most nutrient-rich natural ingredients. The brand was established 15 years ago by Elizabeth Barbalich.
Inspired to start the beauty brand by her background in science, fascination with innovation, and experience in the biomedical field, Elizabeth converted to a more healthy and natural lifestyle once her children were born. As part of this decision, Elizabeth overhauled her entire beauty routine. In the process, she realized that she couldn’t find natural skincare that would give her the results she was used to from luxury products. She saw a gap in the market and this is how Antipodes came to be.
The Story
Initially starting as a passion project to deliver the same or better results versus standard formats but using plant-powered and sustainably packaged formulations, Antipodes has grown from Wellington, New Zealand to 40 countries and 40 staff members. The brand’s goal is to focus on natural ingredients and recyclable packaging, and its products have been globally awarded. Antipodes also focuses heavily on investing in scientific research and has been using recyclable glass and aluminum packaging since the start of the company.
Having thoroughly developed business in Australia and New Zealand, Antipodes was already establishing themselves in the UK, Ireland, and France. Having seen demand for sustainability-focused customers in Europe, Antipodes was keen to expand to Europe.
Part of Antipodes’ expansion plans involved employees. Insert Bethany Andrew, Head of International Sales & Business Development who was so inspired by Elizabeth’s mission and vision for Antipodes that she reached out on LinkedIn to join the team and never looked back. Bethany identified Zalando as a “good route to access and reach European customers, given that we’re based in NZ”. We asked Bethany to shed some light on the relationship between Antipodes and Zalando.
“We were attracted to Zalando because of the ethos, the coverage, and ease of use of doing business across multiple countries across one Zalando.” begins Bethany.
Onboarding efficiently to 10 countries
"We went live in Feb 2021. I have to say that onboarding was very smooth - it was efficient and I think that’s because we have previous experience onboarding retailers. Using language translation services proved crucial in our ability to launch across 10 countries as a small independently owned brand.”
“In one month, we expanded into 10 countries; Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and Denmark.”
“We used ZMS for the Antipodes x Zalando launch. We did this with a homepage teaser and saw a high impact with significant sales in the launch period. I’d recommend going big for a launch and getting additional visibility with ZMS.”
Keeping customer centricity front and center
“We take a data-led approach in our business and our initial hypothesis was that we’d be reaching a broader audience through Zalando. Historically, other retail channels have been more niche and so we would only be found by die-hard fans, Antipodes devotees. It’s great to be on a multi-brand platform that allows new users to engage and connect with us. It’s another opportunity to build brand love.”
“We also see trends around beauty, particularly beauty and sustainability. Zalando is a great place to reach that audience and help them to shop for causes that they care about. We’re fulfilling criteria to use the sustainability tag on some of our products, making it easier for customers to transparently understand and connect with our brand values.”
zDirect for directing decision making
“zDirect is really useful for forecasting and product performance analysis for measuring performance by market vs competitor set and keeping track of our stockholding. It is invaluable, both practically and insights-wise, and helps us feel confident making decisions on Zalando.”
As Zalando grows, so does our opportunity to grow. Our recent product launch has performed exceptionally well across the Zalando fashion stores. We’re also uncovering clear cult favorites across the EU.
Bethany Andrew, Head of International Sales & Business Development
Future Outlook
What does the future hold for Antipodes? Bethany shared with us that “We plan on continuing a long term relationship with Zalando following our launch success. We've updated our packaging to include different languages which is a huge investment for us. We’re committed to serving our customers in Europe and the growth potential that we see there.”
“Our biggest challenge as a niche natural brand is gaining brand awareness. We want to drive customer interest without the huge marketing budgets that a multi-corporate would have. Driving growth with sustainable investment is very important for us and we’ve used Zalando Marketing Services (ZMS) to support. ZMS executed a holistic launch campaign, focused on the App, securing visibility across Zalando homepage via Homepage Teasers, as well as within Fashion & Beauty categories via Category Ads & In-catalog teasers. We also utilized Sponsored Products, to ensure high visibility at the point of sale. Such a holistic approach enabled us to raise visibility on different touch points on Zalando along the user journey, and facilitated a great start on the platform.”
“Additionally, being based in New Zealand means time and language differences but this hasn't impacted our success. The team at Zalando has always helped to make that smooth. We really value the partnership with Zalando and I guess all that’s left to say is watch this space!”
Antipodes’ top tip for partnering with Zalando
Be prepared: “I recommend partnering with Zalando but you have to ensure that you’re ready from a practical sense. Do you have the onboarding and regulatory requirements? Make sure that you can scale. I’d say for brands that are smaller than us, consider your production capacity to ensure that you can meet demand once you’ve scaled up/launched. Scaling is easy with Zalando but you’ll need to make sure you’re ready for it once it happens.”
About Antipodes
Antipodes® is a globally awarded New Zealand beauty brand specialising in high-tech, plant-powered skincare featuring nutrient-rich natural ingredients. Made in New Zealand, formulations are independently tested and certified to establish their efficacy; and the brand’s commitment to a healthier planet is the driving force behind its distinctive premium recyclable glass, aluminium, and FSC-approved cardboard packaging.
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Founded in |
2006 |
|---|---|
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Based in |
Wellington, NZ |
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Employees |
40 |
|
Joined |
Zalando Wholesale and Partner Program |
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Sector |
Beauty/ Natural Skincare |
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