Spotlight On: Fran Benaud from Benaud Beauty

This week, we were lucky enough to speak with Fran from Beauty Life Moments - a place for curated brand partners to engage consumers about their brands, services and products through a series of editorial and masterclasses that are category specific.

Here’s the interview:

Hey Fran! Let’s get started with an introduction. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My first glamour job?

School holidays, working at “Hungry Jacks” for $96 a week. I didn’t like the ‘fast food’ they supplied free to staff for lunch - so I brought my own healthy salad in my little school lunch box. I don’t eat any fast food. (That raised some eyebrows). But I say… always be yourself.

In the beauty industry; I had various Product Manager positions before joining Christian Dior and then Louis Vuitton. This sparked my interest in Fragrance and Accessories.

My passion for Beauty, Fragrance, Wellness and Home has seen me involved in the creation of start-ups, evolving heritage brands for new generations of consumers, new product innovation with global development groups and creating many international launch campaigns. This has been seen in the stories of Yardley London, Nutrimetics, Nu Skin, Sara Lee DE Beauty Brands, and Sheridan.

It has been a privilege to work with many innovative product developers and talented creative teams - and to see the work come to life.

Your career has taken you across continents and industries, from beauty to home and wellness in places like Asia and Europe. How have these varied experiences influenced your approach to developing brands and products?

Experience has taught me to respect ‘The Five Senses of Beauty’.

From the moment someone holds a product in their hands it is the beginning of a new journey. It captures a collection of their senses that resonates at a very personal level - through the senses of Look, Touch, Scent, Taste and Sound. It is these senses that directs our desires.

As a marketer you need to capture this desire in the product, and then the storytelling of that product, in a way that touches your market.

The questions you need to answer? 

1. Who are we speaking to?

2. What do we need to say? and

3. Where do we say it?

Answer those deeply and accurately and you’re on your way…

Also, when developing a new product or refreshing a brand it is very important you seek out manufacturing and creative partners that are attuned to the specific regions where your brand is sold. They work in those markets each day. There are also certain business and cultural nuances that you need to be aware of when engaging with regional buyers, suppliers, brand partners and government bodies. Have some flexibility. Don’t simply impose a rigid global message. Do listen to the locals.

You’ve played a pivotal role in the success of many international brands. Could you tell us about a moment or decision that really steered your career in a new direction in the beauty industry? 

There are two separate but related career stages – learning about the fascination of good product development, and then taking a well-developed product into the fiercest market arena.

Firstly, when I joined Yardley of London the role involved not only the brand marketing but was also linked to product development. I gained a love of the science behind the product – an interest I have maintained.

Then… I joined the Sara Lee De Beauty group on Nutrimetics and other beauty brands on a North American lifestyle retail project. It was this role that really changed my career direction. The American market is intense, highly competitive, and demands total commitment from corporations and individuals. It is very tough but very exciting. This taught me that it is crucial to develop the best product – but it is of little value if you don’t keep your marketing promise to the consumer. A lot of big promises may get you early sales, but after initial trial disappointed consumers will not buy again. I saw many of our competitors fail by over-promising and not delivering. Good quality and good ethics won the day for us and established a positive long-term brand image. That has stayed with me over the years.

And what are you focusing on right now?

Consultancy still takes up most of my time. These days a lot of this is fixing issues that have come from the inexperience of people who have not been correctly trained or mentored. Also, many people are being placed into positions where they do not have the correct expertise for the role (even at Board level) – lots of enthusiasm and confidence – which is fine, but you also need the industry in-depth knowledge to avoid expensive errors of strategy – or financial doom. I help companies to avoid such prospects by helping them to choose the right products to develop and then bringing them to market successfully.

I am also developing a new editorial platform called Beauty Life Moments - a place for curated brand partners to engage consumers about their brands, services and products through a series of editorial and masterclasses that are category specific.

Mentorship is often cited as crucial in professional development. Have you had mentors who significantly impacted your journey? What standout lessons from them do you still apply in your professional life today?

The Head of Fragrance buying for one of the leading department stores. I learnt a lot from her in relation to ranging and merchandising when first starting out.

Also, the CEO from one of the heritage beauty brands - her professionalism and approach to business has always stayed with me.

(continues…)

Some learnings that have stood the test of time:

Retail points: Quality – not quantity. Good brands take time, and you need to develop meaningful relationships with retailers or distributors, be it in a traditional bricks and mortar footprint, through a digital presence, or if you are a direct selling brand. The Sales channel is about the quality of that destination and the demographic.

Passion matters. Find something to be passionate about the category that you are engaged in. You may not love all of your job – but find the part you love the most and develop it.

The beauty is in the detail. Attention to detail matters – it can be the smallest thing such as how an invitation to an event is created, and received, or how a product sample has been packed with an order. The first impression of a brand can come from many areas and each one is just as important. You only get one opportunity to make a positive first impact.

You are the brand – no matter what level you are in a company you are representative of the brand. How you present yourself in business really does matter.

Look to the greats - I have tended also to look at who past or present has made an impact in the business industry and in the creative fields, and what I could learn.

The great marketer Bill Bernbach once wrote… “An idea can turn to dust or magic depending upon the talent that rubs upon it - and only a deep belief will generate the vitality and energy that gives life to your work.” 

This has always stayed with me as the Bernbach era was an era when advertising was very considered, and there was an understanding of the relationship between copy and art direction, and of the impact this makes on a consumer. An idea may be wonderful, but it is the specific execution of an idea that results in success or failure.

Given the rapid technological advancements affecting every sector, how do you envision technology further transforming the beauty industry?

The beauty industry has always been at the forefront of technology and innovation. This was very evident when the pandemic hit. As an industry, we were better placed to address online and ecommerce applications than other industries.

From the ‘personalisation’ associated with new technologies there is an opportunity for bricks and mortar retail destinations to marry the ‘at-counter’ experience and technology to create lucrative new ways to consult and shop beauty.

Consumers more than ever have embraced what is being referred to as ‘clean beauty’. There are changes happening in markets with regulating this sector in relation to product claims and how those products are represented. Technology will play an important part in the manufacturing and the substantiation of claims and product traceability. I also can see leaps in technologies associated with the development of cosmeceutical beauty devices. The industry has only just begun to see the potential of this major beauty sector.

You’ve been involved in both creating start-ups and established brands. Which do you find more challenging and why?

Both have their own challenges:  

Heritage or established brands at some point need to look to new customer bases. It is not easy to adjust your brand position for a new audience, especially when if you need to maintain your current customer base. For example, if you have ranged your brand at mid-market position but wish to chase the luxury market.

I love working in an established brand that have tiered brands within their portfolio as it gives you the opportunity to work across multi sectors and markets. The advantage of working with a large multi-national is not only the resources, but the opportunity to work on greenfield projects with ensured investment capital.

Start-ups are always challenging. The first and second years are the hardest and you have to be realistic about costs verses return on investment. Good start-ups have staged business plans in place, look to outside experts for advice, and understand the investment capital required. Cash flow (or lack of it) is the ‘trap for young players’.

A start-up new brand within a large business is always easier, as the overall business is not a representation of one brand. It is when a start-up is the singular brand – the challenge is growing the brand to get to a stage where it becomes profitable and having the right investment capital to get to the next stage.

What’s on your desk right now?

My actual desk?

I am extremely tidy. I like to have minimal items around me. I like a wonderful pen and notebook; I am old school and take notes in a proper notebook. And yes, a laptop computer. Flowers and fragrance always make a difference. I view a fragrance bottle like a work of art. And I am having an AERIN moment recently. When I am working, I like to have a second table to work from – I have a lot of beauty products, books and research materials at hand. I do not do ‘clutter’.

If you could go back to the beginning and give yourself one piece of advice when you were just starting out, what would it be? 

The advice to myself would be:  “If a position came up in a company or brand that you loved, but was not your role of choice, you should still consider it. “ 

It may not be the position you want, but it is the right company. Making an internal move is easy in time. But only if you are already part of the company.

What’s the last thing you Googled for work?

Today I have been reviewing CEW, Cosmetic Executive Women, the beauty industries professional body which is US based. Not only is it a wonderful resource tool for industry members, but it also keeps you up-to-date each day with what is happening with all things beauty.

 I do a lot of research and have just finished looking at mid-century fashion photographers for inspiration, caught up with some retail news and some articles on product ingredients, and read an article on Estee Lauder’s business directions. At the end of the day, I always see what is new at Flaunter!

Links:

Benaud Beauty | www.benaudbeauty.com

Beauty Life Moments | www.beautylifemoments.com

Instagram | @BeautyLifeMoments