OleHenriksen is finally getting into the collaboration space.
The Sephora-exclusive skin-care brand partnered with influencer and former Vogue editor Jenna Rennert (@ItsJennaRennert; 107,000 Instagram followers) to create a three-product nighttime regimen in a co-branded kit, which launched Tuesday. Products include the Dark Spot Toner, the Truth Juice Cleanser and a new product, Dewtopia 5% Acid Firming Night Crème, sold together for $65.
In the past, OleHenriksen has only dabbled in collaborations, with custom gifting boxes and one special edition box with the Instagram beauty account @Trendmood. However, this is the first time the Kendo-owned brand has partnered with an influencer on a collaboration. It is also Rennert’s first collaboration with a brand.
Rachel Berg, vp of global marketing at OleHenriksen, said Rennert drives product sales for OleHenriksen and has been responsible for past product sellouts. Ole Henriksen began a formal paid relationship with Rennert in 2020, but Rennert said she discovered Ole Henriksen and has been a fan since interning at Lucky magazine, which shuttered in 2015.
“It’s incredibly important to partner with our creator community,” said Berg. “We didn’t partner with a traditional celebrity or a mega-creator; we wanted to partner with someone who was a genuine brand fan and advocate.”
It is notable that the nearly 40-year-old brand has not done a collaboration of this kind, given influencer collaborations have been around for at least the past decade. Berg would not specify why the brand has not collaborated in this way before or what success metrics the brand will evaluate. However, the brand works frequently with influencers including Stephanie Valentine (@Glamzilla; 416,000 Instagram followers) and Jackie Aina (@JackieAina; 1.8 million Instagram followers) via paid partnerships.
Berg declined to share the terms of the deal with Rennert, only saying, “We truly view her as a business partner in this initiative and have set up the deal as such.” Rennert said the team approached her with the opportunity and that she worked with them to select the three featured products and the design of the secondary packaging. On Sephora.com, Rennert is featured in a video about the products, and OleHenriksen.com includes her bio blurb in the product description.
“My whole intent with doing this was to give people a manageable nighttime skin-care routine; there’s a lot of noise in the skin-care industry,” she said, adding that her followers look for skin-care advice more than anything. Rennert said she uses her editorial background to direct her content production and curation. Her content predominantly features makeup and skin care, followed by fashion and family photos.
“I think about what people want and the variety, like Instagram Reels versus static [imagery] or Q&A [videos]. You always have to be delivering something interesting,” she said.
Ahead of the OleHenriksen collab launch, Rennert introduced the then-upcoming launch on December 5 with an Instagram video post detailing the collaboration and directing people to a waitlist on OleHenriksen.com. The OleHenriksen team did not respond to a request for a waitlist signup figure. Additional posts between then and the launch date included item reveals, photos from promotional events for the collab and teasers pumping up the upcoming debut. Rennert also has a permanent Instagram Story highlight housing all her related Story promotions.
