This is an episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the beauty and wellness industries. More from the series →
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Daniel Landver is the head of UTA’s creators product group — a role most people may not even realize exists. While his job keeps him behind the scenes, Landver is behind some of the buzziest brand launches of the past decade. Think: Patrick Starrr’s One/Size, Alex Cooper’s Unwell (beverages), Mikayla Nogueira’s POV Beauty and Alix Earle’s recently launched Reale Actives, to name a few.
Much has changed in the 10 years since Landver began working in the creator economy. During his conversation with co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner for the Glossy Beauty Podcast, he discusses how the creator-brand landscape has evolved since he first entered the space in 2015, what separates successful founder-creators from those who struggle and why, in an increasingly crowded market, product quality matters more than follower count.
A fast-moving space
“The challenge now, where in 2015 we had a hard time validating the concept [and that] this could be done, [is that] now it’s very saturated, so now everyone’s trying to do it. And the question is: How do you do it well? How do you do it meaningfully? How do you build value? How do you build a great product? … [In the] early days, there were a lot of collaborations with existing brands. As things evolved, people said, ‘This is great, but we can also build our own businesses and take more ownership and more creative control, and build things the way we want to build them, in terms of the product and engagement with [their] audiences.’ So, more and more people started doing things independently and understanding that they have the opportunity, if they’re passionate, to build something special and unique to serve their audience.”
Not every creator should be a founder
“Sometimes the biggest converters who have the power to sell a lot of goods through affiliate [marketing] are not the best brand builders, and it’s a little bit upside down. They can sell a lot of stuff to a lot of people and make great commissions — they’re making a lot of revenue by recommending other people’s products — but they’re not necessarily building [their own] brand or point of view or an aesthetic that an audience identifies with. What makes someone successful is their ability to be authentic with their audience and engage with their audience, but ultimately have a strong point of view. When you think of this person, what is the product? Why is it something that they resonate with? I’ll give you a couple of examples. If you think of Emma Chamberlain, and you look at Chamberlain Coffee, [coffee is] something she’s talked about from before she started. It’s a category she’s passionate about, and the whole aesthetic fits her aesthetic, and people engage with that. Alix Earle launched Real Actives at the end of March, which was a very successful launch. … Alix worked extremely hard, was extremely involved in every single step of the brand, is in the office, is extremely hands-on. When there was a problem with the packaging, she was on the phone with the packaging technician and figuring it out with the president of the company. So this is something that she was really passionate about building. One of the reasons [she felt passionately about building the company] is that she’s always documented her struggles and insecurities with acne, and wanted to develop something in acne, in the skin care space, to help herself and her audience with similar challenges — but we wanted to do it in a really meaningful way.”
What’s next in this space
“What are the next 10 years going to look like? I think the entire market is moving. There are a lot more brands coming to market, [either] with creators or without creators or talent. Beauty is constantly evolving. Retailers are constantly evolving. Where’s Amazon going to be in 10 years? Where’s TikTok Shop going to be in 10 years? The North Star is always to build a product that you’re proud of, build a brand that you’re proud of, run it well and engage with your customers in a meaningful way. Do you want to sell direct-to-consumer? Do you want to sell it wholesale? Do you want to sell it at mass? All great options, all great avenues, but nothing can be at the expense of great product, great quality, and having people want to show up and buy it, with or without the talent being the face of it. So, I think we have to stick to the things that make all businesses successful, all brands successful. In many cases, creators have a great avenue to engage directly with their audience and help learn from them, have a dialog with them, and of course connect with them over social. Building a business is really hard — so we just have to evolve with the market, and we’ll continue to do so.”
