Azio Beauty is passionate about helping women feel confident in their skin and reveal their natural beauty. Since 2021, the UK based K-Beauty brand has been on a mission to disrupt the overpriced beauty market and make premium anti-ageing skincare products more accessible to women everywhere.
To do this, Azio has reimagined the production process, partnering directly with R&D labs and developing its skincare products from the ground up to bring down the cost without compromising on quality.
Of course, achieving success in the UK premium beauty market also requires exceptional customer experience. So as Azio prepared to launch in the UK in summer 2021, their team began searching for a third-party fulfilment partner capable of delivering to the very highest customer expectations.
According to Luna Cassan, Co-Founder of Azio’s parent company ORBYT GROUP, “We needed a partner willing to work with a small, growing, and dynamic brand. We were also looking for a provider with the tech skills and infrastructure to minimise our integration times and scale with our business as we grew. Huboo met all of these criteria and, from day one, has enabled us to give our customers the fast, reliable and hassle-free experience they expect from a premium brand.”
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect households across the UK, beauty customers have become more discerning about the brands they purchase – a challenging market backdrop but a great opportunity for an ambitious new brand with a distinct proposition.
With an affordable, high-quality product range and a best-of-breed fulfilment provider on board, Azio Beauty proved an immediate hit, achieving UK sales growth of 120% in 2022, as customers who traditionally used expensive high-end brands tried Azio for the first time and loved the experience.
While the brand speaks mainly to women aged 45-50+, in the UK, Azio found that its bestselling product, The Intense Firming Face Serum, proved highly appealing to younger women too.
“As women start to see the benefits of our products, other household members inevitably take notice and sneakily try them out for themselves – until they get caught and have to buy their own!” explains Luna.
Younger people increasingly recognise the benefits of taking on the ageing process as early as possible through an improved skincare regime. Going forward, Azio sees a clear opportunity to speak to this audience directly via social channels, particularly through its Beauty Ambassador influencer programme.
“Influencer marketing plays a significant role in our acquisition and retention strategy, and we are building long-term relationships with every Ambassador we engage, as they truly are the voice of our brand,” says Luna. “Through Huboo, we know we can always get new products out to Ambassadors ahead of their deadlines, giving them the time they need to instil their unique personality on all of the Azio content they create.”
Azio frequently runs giveaways and partnerships through its Ambassadors to engage and grow its community, while the community’s passionate response to new product launches has led to a surge in user-generated content, which is now a crucial pillar in Azio’s marketing strategy.
The next stage for Azio will be leaning into the growing social commerce movement and boosting its presence on TikTok and YouTube, amongst other channels. For example, the brand plans to host weekly live shopping events on TikTok, utilising the platform’s new shopping feature to increase sales and engagement with younger audiences.
Alongside this, Azio is developing a rewards programme for loyal followers and a subscription service so that repeat customers can restock automatically at the best possible price point. It’s part of a bold, multi-channel acquisition strategy that will also see Azio expanding into physical stores over the next 12 months – all of which is underpinned by Huboo’s ability to keep picking, packing, and shipping orders, regardless of the sales channel.
In a premium beauty market where most products retail for at least 12 times their production costs, Azio stands out for its unwavering commitment to making high-quality skincare solutions more affordable. By 2024, it aims to be the go-to affordable skincare brand for UK women, while Azio’s team are also setting their sights on EU and US expansion in the years ahead. Luna knows that this will mean moving fast and continuing to innovate across all aspects of the business – from R&D and product innovation to marketing to delivery.
“As a young and ambitious startup, we need a 3PL like Huboo with the capacity to scale as we grow, react quickly to new ideas and last-minute plans, and offer guidance and sort out any issues that might occur along the way,” says Luna. “We’re working tirelessly to refine and achieve the most advanced and potent skincare solutions as well as introducing a whole new range of innovative skincare products for the face and body. What we love most about Huboo is that they enable us to switch off from logistics and focus on developing our business.”
Looking for an expert cosmetics fulfilment partner to scale your business? Get in touch with our team!
