With Amazon expected to become the largest beauty retailer, with one report estimating it will take up 14.5% of the market share by 2025, many beauty brands are starting to launch storefronts on the online marketplace. This year alone, Clinique, Kiehl’s and Too Faced have all launched on Amazon. And 3-year-old antiaging skin-care brand Agency is the latest to join the ranks.
Agency, launched in 2021, is the sister brand to the 10-year-old custom skin-care brand Curology. Both sell prescription and over-the-counter products through a subscription model. While Curology primarily focuses on skin care concerns such as acne and hyperpigmentation, Agency targets antiaging. In December, Curology launched on Amazon with its 18 non-RX products. This week, Agency is following Curology’s retail expansion strategy.
On Monday, Agency officially launched on Amazon with its core non-RX products — Cream Oil Cleanser, Weightless Whipped Moisturizer, SilkScreen, HydroSerum Eye Stick and Milky Hydration Concentrate — all priced between $18-$52. Unlike Agency’s DTC site, on Amazon, consumers will be able to purchase each product individually, bypassing the two-month subscription cadence.
Steve Siegal, Agency and Curology’s chief marketing and innovation officer, said that, prior to launching into Amazon, the team conducted a thorough survey to determine the best expansion strategy for Agency. “Not everyone wants a subscription to a particular product,” Siegal said. “Our [internal] research showed that 40% of consumers are subscription-phobic and wouldn’t sign on to a specific offering. … Plus, we looked into [data around] discovery outside of the DTC experience, and we found that it can come either via e-commerce online or by being able to interact with brands in a retail environment.”
That data is what ultimately led the team to pursue Amazon as its first retail partner. “To start getting the Agency to the next level, we needed to have more discovery with consumers, especially for those who don’t want to subscribe. That’s why Amazon is a great way to get consumers exposure to the Agency brand,” he said.
With this Amazon launch, Siegal shared how the Agency team is starting slow with big plans to ramp up its investments in its Amazon storefront and marketing as time goes by. “I would call it a crawl, walk, run approach,” Siegal said.
Initially, the multilayered strategy will be focused on discovery through search and ads on Amazon. “We’ll be investing a fair amount into making sure consumers can find us,” said Siegal. Next, Siegal said that the team will be “investing heavily” in the back half of the year on a new campaign, which is set to roll out in September. “It’s going to be disruptive for the [anti-aging] category, and the theme of it will be around aging with agency,” he added. Lastly, Agency will increase its influencer partnerships and gifting in hopes that it will boost traffic to its storefront and increase sales.
With Agency’s core demographic consisting of consumers ages 40-54, adapting to their online shopping behaviors by launching into Amazon is a strategic move. According to previous Glossy reporting, older consumers are increasingly transitioning from in-person to digital shopping. Data from a Capital One shopping survey revealed that in the 12-month period ending in March 2024, 85% of Gen X consumers shopped online. What’s more, 9.52% of Gen X consumers are more likely than the average American to shop online at least weekly.
Siegal declined to provide Agency or Curology’s revenue. However, a press release from October 2022 revealed that the company reached a “milestone of profitability,” generating over $200 million in revenue, according to CEO Heather Wallace, who was appointed CEO that same year. She also added that the company had a 75% compound growth rate over the past five years up until that point.
