Black-Up Cosmetics Analysis

In researching Black|Up cosmetics, I began with a different approach. When I researched this company within any database, I found little to no information. At first, I assumed that the lack of information was because Black|Up is a foreign company. Its base location is in Paris, France. The majority of their stores and products are in countries outside of the United States. Searching several internet sources, I discovered that Black|Up is expanding. It is now breaking into the American market. This explains the recent popularity of this brand. I didn’t realize this brand existed until a few months ago. To find these products, you must visit select stores. The first time I discovered this make-up brand was in the Sephora store in New York. Therefore, …show more content…
The brand understands the makeup needs for women with darker skin tones. They offer “an assortment of primers that target oily and combination skin — crucial for women of color, who often need more mattifying and skin-tone-evening products to help with pigmentation” (Peoples and Weatherford). All products are oil, paraben and fragrance-free and are never tested on animals. The beauty industry failed to create products that cater to women with darker complexions. This is partly due to the “perception that women of color spend less on makeup than Caucasian women” (Segran). Most beauty products carry a limited range of products that ignore darker skin tones. For most cosmetic companies, spending money on research and development to create products for a new market segment is expensive. With the added perception that women of color spend less on makeup, most cosmetics brands didn’t see the need to create products for women of color. This lack of variety created an untapped and neglected need. Recognizing this need, Black|Up designed products for this market. Major makeup brands formulate darker and lighter shades the same (Peoples and Weatherford). This often gives more variety to women with lighter shades. Black Up created over “30 foundation shades tailor-made for women of color, with luminous undertones of red-copper, orange, and yellow-gold to give you radiance without ashiness” (Peoples and Weatherford). The inception …show more content…
It is sold through multi-brand French beauty retailers like Sephora and Marionnaud. It now operates in more than 200 retail outlets in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. In 2011, Black|Up partnered with distributor Phillipe Gerad Enterprises to expand into the Caribbean market (Silva). This served as part of Black|Up’s strategy to meet their target market. The launch featured events held by international makeup artists from Black|Up cosmetics, who conducted makeovers and workshops (Silva). In 2015, when the brand began to expand to the US it applied a similar strategy. According to Valerie Saint-Amand, this expansion is due to the growing demand of customers. The success of their US site reflected the growing demand for Black|Up by US customers. The brand opened its products in ten Sephora locations nationwide on September 15, 2015 (Brown). Their products are also online on their main US site and on Sephora.com. They continue to be consistent and on message as they break into the US market. The models on their US website are women with darker skin tones. The first message displayed on the site is “for women of color” (Black|Up). In addition, they launched beauty events to introduce their products. At Sephora’s Center City in Philadelphia, Black|Up held a three day event, where Sephora shoppers received on-site makeup consultations and samples from Black|Up’s talent makeup artist and US Sales Director Valerie Saint Amand