Beauty Brand Pacifica is doubling down on its 100 percent vegan commitment with the launch of a six-piece line formulated with plant-based collagen derived from a fermentation process. The brand said the formula demonstrates an equivalence to animal-derived collagens through structural, biochemical, physical and biological properties.

Pacifica, which was founded in 1996, has been able to sustain double-digit growth over the past five years and is on track to anniversary that this year. “2020 has meant really being nimble, pivoting how we are thinking and staying modern,” said founder Brook Harvey-Taylor. “We have to look forward rather than looking back. Things will never be the same again in the world.” Here, Brook spoke to CEW Beauty News about marketing plans for the new launch, how COVID-19 has impacted the business, and actions the brand is taking in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Beauty News: Talk about the inspiration behind the development of the new launch.
Brook Harvey-Taylor: There is so much great information about how good collagen is for your skin, both internally and externally. Sadly, it decreases as we age. Our customers are super ingredient savvy and smart. They do their research, and they really help guide the decisions we make around launches. They’ve been asking for an alternative to animal collagen. So finally, after several years of work, we’re excited to launch our new Vegan Collagen Collection at Ulta Beauty, which includes: Gel Cleanser ($15), Hydrating Milk Tonic ($16), Serum ($22), Every Day Lotion ($24), Overnight Recovery Cream ($19) and a Recovery Eye Cream ($16).  Clinical studies have shown improved skin elasticity by 28 percent in just two weeks, with a significant, measured improvement in skin moisturization.

BN: Describe marketing plans to reach your core demographic.
BHT: We’re lucky enough to have diverse Gen Z and Millennial consumers as our core.  But as a 24-year-old brand, we never ignore our Gen Xers, who have loved us since Day One and still trust us with their skin care. We always focus on authentic communication with our consumer.  We start with what’s most important to them: education. For us this means a true 360-degree approach, including social media, e-commerce, influencer and PR. For PR, we are holding virtual ‘happy hour’ meetings with myself and key beauty editors to take them through the new launch in an interactive and educational format. We are sending editors product and a vegan cocktail kit so they can test out the products during our chat, and of course have a delicious drink to enjoy.

And, because we believe in eating right, we are teaming up with a few vegan chefs including Chef Chloe, to create a custom vegan recipe inspired by the ingredients in the Vegan Collagen line. The recipe demo will live as an IGTV on our IG channel and Chef Chloe will also be cross-promoting to her audience.

We will also be creating video content detailing end users’ experience with the collection and documenting their results. And, as we always do with any launch, we will seed new and existing fans with the product line to create awareness and education.

BN: How has the brand fared during COVID?
BHT: We were watching trend reports at the beginning of COVID-19 and a lot of experts speculated that clean beauty was going to decline and people were going to have a preference toward chemicals in their beauty routine. But we have actually seen the opposite happening and have fared well through this entire experience. We pulled back on our forecasting early on, but quickly ramped back up when it became clear that consumers and retailers were more interested in the clean beauty space now than ever. Wellness has become key. And, because we have always been authentic in our communication with our consumer, we have gained their trust. Trust is key right now, far more than newness, innovation or marketing. If a brand hasn’t done the work to build that trust over the years, it won’t be able to sustain itself in harder times.  We have always focused on building brand love, trust, and authentic connectivity.

BN: How has the brand responded to the Black Lives Matter movement?
BHT: Compassion is our core value as a brand. That extends to our position on social justice. Like all brands in this time of uncertainty, we were unclear on what the roadmap looked like and it meant we had to listen and learn. Our goal is to end white supremacy. Our action today is to support where we are needed by amplifying Black voices, influence and presence in the beauty space.  We are doing this in our pro and influencer programs, and on our own team. We will continue to donate to social justice causes. In the last five months, we have raised over $45K for the ACLU and Campaign Zero. My team and I have been lucky enough to have an opportunity to be a part of a mentorship program for BIPOC in the beauty industry. I feel we must change this administration in order to move forward, so we have likewise partnered with the ACLU and are focusing on a major voting campaign. There is still so much more work to be done, and so much more to learn.  We are grateful to 25 Black Women in Beauty, an amazing group who offers support for building out diversity in beauty through constructive, intentional collaboration, networking and celebrating Black women in our industry, and for the brave protestors who have been fighting to this day including young activists like Tianna Arata, our loyal customers, and influencers who continue to keep us aware and inspire us towards changes that will lead to a better future.