Men’s skin-care brand Lumin has undergone a makeover to make its look and feel more fun and simplified, while still remaining a solutions-driven brand.
The re-design efforts include a new logo featuring a lightbulb icon to signify Lumin’s new ethos of innovation and aim to help men “feel and look their brightest.” Updates to the brand’s secondary product packaging are also being made, according to a press release. Secondary packaging was previously made up of matte-green boxes; the boxes are now white and yellow with sporty icons like men flipping and jumping. The brand’s re-design comes with a community-building initiative and a content series spotlighting what Lumin calls “Luminaries.” These are men who are trailblazers and innovators, and they’re sharing their personal “light bulb” moments to help others. Lumin also announced the appointment of Ingrid Jackel as CEO of the brand’s parent company, Pangaea Holdings, Inc., which also owns the grooming tools brand Meridian. Meridian went through its own rebrand in December 2022. Lumin has acquired over 2 million consumers since its launch in 2018 and estimates it will earn $50 million in revenue in 2023. It is sold in 62 countries in retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart.
“[Lumin’s] rebranding is about bringing our brand’s true personality to life. We’re focusing on our strengths and giving it a louder voice so more men can know about products, and we’re also letting our emotional voice speak up,” Jackel said in an interview with Glossy. “In terms of the visual representation of the brand, the goal was to stand out and to break away from the clutter of what I call ‘the sea of sameness’ of the men’s category.’”
Prior to the rebrand, Lumin was solely focused on being a problem-solution brand but did not have much soul behind it. Now it is what Jackel called an “elegantly irreverent” brand, with a “cocktail of science, styling and stunts.” Jackel said the top grooming concerns for men are dark circles, ingrown hairs related to shaving, breakouts, dryness and skin discoloration. They are less concerned about signs of aging and wrinkles. Lumin’s core customer demo is 25 to 44 years old, but a growing category is 18-25.
The rebrand kicked off with a new website on April 12 and a subsequent digital campaign. To start, the campaign features five different posters, each representing a skin-care issue like breakouts or dark circles. The posters were designed to mirror magazine covers, and Lumin will publish them on social media and its website. Lumin is also running a targeted, paid digital influencer campaign and an online content series. The series features influencers, as well as individuals enlisted to share their personal experiences and insights. Julisa Gonzalez, senior director of brand marketing for Lumin, said the campaign provides a platform for people to learn from each other and benefit from the “lightbulb moments” shared by spotlight Luminaries. New Luminaries will be added to the site monthly, and related content will be posted on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
“The new Lumin branding is a witty and simple approach to men’s skin care to help them look and feel brilliant inside and out. We wanted to make sure we debuted it in an impactful way,” said Gonzalez.
Though Lumin is only five years old, the men’s skin-care market has rapidly changed in the face of more unisex skin care brands and the rise of platforms like TikTok. According to NPD Group, 2022 men’s prestige skin-care sales reached $190.1 million, a 23% increase compared to 2021. According to Glossy’s previous reporting from March, the hashtag #mensskincare currently draws up approximately 350,000 results on Instagram. Meanwhile, on TikTok, the same hashtag has over 295 million views. In addition to skin-care products and cosmetic products providing a “natural” finish, male consumers are also becoming more interested in traditionally female-marketed beauty products. According to consumer behavior research firm Spate, there has also been a year-over-year increase in Google searches for “men” alongside products like eyeshadow (+9.5%) and nail polish (+13.7%).
“The category is getting more exciting, meaning men have more choices. Globally, it’s a category that everybody is waiting to see explode,” said Jackel. “There will be a larger opportunity in the market with younger generations because they’re looking at skin care [sooner] and as a broader category than more mature customers.”
