For the last 25 years, Peter Thomas Roth has been known for his effective, on-trend and ingredient-driven products. Most promise big results; others are successful for being first to market. He’s become a flourishing facial-fixture at QVC; his multitude of sku’s are carried globally by Sephora, among other massive retailers; his products found in all Hilton Hotels and Resorts. Last week, CEW Beauty Insider caught up the skin care guru at a media breakfast at abcV where he celebrated his new Potent-C Power line, encompassing a Serum, Eye Cream and Targeted Spot Brightener, as well as a Max Mineral Naked Broad Spectrum SPF 45. Here, highlights from the interview.

CEW Beauty Insider: You have three new vitamin C products launching. How are these different from past launches?


Peter Thomas Roth: My old vitamin C was very powerful but turned brown. My other, the Camu Camu Power C line, was really great, but then I found the synthetic ingredient THD ascorbate. It’s a breakthrough ingredient that’s 50 times more powerful than traditional vitamin C, so it made sense to create a new product rather than update old ones.

BI: How do you gain shelf space when you launch new products?


PTH: I hate that process. It’s rare that I don’t like a product. I work so hard on them, but I know I can’t just release new ones. Something has to come off. We look at sales and the bottom 10 products. We look at what makes sense not to remove. Some products are retired; others are removed from the shelves. Strong products with healthy sales continue to be sold at spas and skin care salons. If we’re upgrading it’s an easier decision since we’re not removing but replacing.

BI: How do you know which retailers should carry which products, and for how long?


PTH:

Each retailer decides what they want, and which direction they might go in. Places like Sephora, Ulta Beauty and QVC are either retail driven, manufacturer driven or trend driven. It’s really a conversation and we work hand-in-hand to make sure we give them what they want. If they can give you all their windows, then you give them an exclusive for three or six months.

BI: One of the newer marketing directions you’ve taken is to feature yourself in your print ads. What made you do that?

PTH: I realized I’m talking to my customers directly on QVC, which is an approach that’s doing extremely well. Last year my QVC business doubled. We realized that should be incorporated into our advertising so the consumer can see me with my products like they do on the show.

BI: What has surprised you most in the beauty business?


PTH: That other companies have my products in their labs and that they’re looking at what I’m doing. It’s very flattering. It’s also really funny because we don’t always have a plan. I shoot from the hip. I have no real formula. I’m a clinical line that can use both natural and man-made ingredients. I test-drive everything myself. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t. Then you start again.