Beekman 1802 Enjoys “Double Digit Boost” in Sales for Those Using its Perfect Corp. AI Skin Experience
Situation: Leveraging the Power of AI to Educate and Guide Skincare Customers
Beekman 1802 was born in 2008 when founders, Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge, moved to the historic Beekman farm in rural Sharon Springs, NY. There they found a tightknit community and 100 goats looking for a home. Next thing you know, they became the world's biggest goat milk-based skincare company, earning the right to call themselves the first and only certified microbiome-friendly brand at Ulta stores for the moisturizing, exfoliation, and nourishing properties of the goat milk found in their products. With their Clinically Kind® approach to skincare that's clinically tested, scientifically proven, and made for sensitive skin, they have long proven that There's Beauty in Kindness™.
Jill Scalamandre, CEO of Beekman 1802, says that throughout all of her years in the beauty business she is constantly being asked for advice on what products should be used for varying skin conditions—even by family and friends.
“We wanted to help our customers, whom we call ‘neighbors’ answer such questions on their own,” Scalamandre says. “We also wanted to begin to educate them about their skin microbiome, and how to protect and nurture this critically important environment of beneficial skin bacteria.”
The company decided that the best path forward was to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) to give customers the chance to scan their face for
Skin Analysis. Beekman 1802 uses Perfect Corp. AI Skin Diagnostic technology to analyze skin health and provide guidance on the best products to use to restore the health of the skin microbiome.
To provide the most precise AI skin analysis, the company needed to find a technology partner who could provide the finest industry-leading technology.
Solution: Perfect Corp. AI Skin Diagnostic Technology
Beekman 1802, after evaluating its options, chose Perfect Corp., which combines powerful AI with its industry-leading AR to provide precision skin scanning technology.
The solution is Beekman 1802’s My Skin Biome tool, which assesses skin attributes and then offers a custom skincare routine based on skin's redness, wrinkles, dark spots, hydration, texture and skin microbiome scores, while teaching users all about the microbiome and why it is important to overall skin health.
“We looked at other providers, but felt that Perfect Corp. was the industry leader,” says Brad Farrell, Chief Marketing Officer for Beekman 1802. “The My Skin Biome tool invites our neighbors to scan their face to get a personalized and very precise analysis of their skin conditions. We then provide not just
User Friendly & Fun. Beekman 1802 ‘neighbors’ enjoy using the My Skin Biome tool to track the health of their skin.
Educating consumers about their skin microbiome is important because so few have an understanding of this important aspect of skin health.
From Scanning to Educating and Providing Personalized Product Recommendations
Scalamandre underscores the importance of maintaining a healthy skin microbiome—including not damaging it with biome-unfriendly beauty products. While AI skin technology can’t reveal the microscopic makeup of the skin biome, it provides a picture of overall skin health.
“We measure the health of the skin, and then provide user-friendly education about what causes different conditions,” Scalamandre says. “People don't realize that there are ingredients inside many skincare products that disrupt the bacteria levels of the skin microbiome by damaging the good bacteria. If you disrupt the microbiome, you're wounding the skin, which then must self-repair. By not disrupting it, you get better results with skincare. The goat milk we use in all of our products has been proven to be beneficial to the skin biome.”
To drive home the value of goat milk for the skin microbiome, the company worked with Perfect Corp. to integrate Beekman 1802’s mascot, a digital goat named Goatie, into its My Skin Biome tool. Goatie explains, for example, the science behind dry skin, and then recommends the best Beekman 1802 products to nurture the skin microbiome to treat dry skin.
As Easy as 1, 2, 3. Beekman 1802’s My Skin Biome tool is designed for ease of use.
“Our job is to teach them how it's important not to disrupt the microbiome of their skin, to make sure they are always nurturing it,” Scalamandre says. “That is exactly what the goat milk in our products does.”
Benefits of Perfect Corp. AI Skin Diagnostic Technology for Analyzing Skin Health
Beekman 1802 has enjoyed a number of benefits since deploying its Perfect Corp. AI+AR-powered skin scanning and diagnostics tool, including:
- Double digit boost in basket size.
- Engaging & fun customer experience, with half of customers landing on site engaging with the facial scanning app.
- Consumers sharing their skin diagnostic screenshots on social media.
- Creating a powerful education tool to help consumers decide on the best skin care products.
- Establishing thought leadership in the skin microbiome.
“Double Digit Boost to Basket Size” for Customer Using the AI Skin Diagnostic
Beekman 1802 has found that customers who engage with the My Skin Biome tool make larger purchases.
“Our Perfect Corp. AI Skin tool is driving increased incremental sales and higher average transactions for people who complete the My Skin Biome experience,” Farrell says. “The My Skin Biome tool gives our neighbors the skin care guidance they’ve always wanted. They can see precisely what issues their skin may have, and learn about the best products to restore their skin health. All of this has led to a double digit increase in purchases compared to those who don’t take advantage of the tool.”
Engaging & Fun “Half of Those Who Come to the My Skin Biome AI Skin Experience Follow Through with a Skin Analysis”
The Beekman 1802 My Skin Biome tool has proven so effective that the company includes links to it AI Skin experience landing page across its marketing channels.
“We’ve found that about half of those who come to our My Skin Biome landing page, follow through with using the tool Farrell says. “This is an impressive rate of engagement, which drives sales, and encourages our neighbors to explore our products. In fact, we see a 50% longer dwell time on our site for those who engage with our My Skin Biome tool.”
Farrell wasn’t surprised by how fun and engaging the company’s neighbors found the product, because the My Skin Biome tool had caused a lot of excitement within the Beekman 1802 offices while it was being developed with Perfect Corp.
“Everyone within our offices really enjoyed using the AI experience during development,” Farrell says. “People were scanning their faces, sharing their scores and screenshots.”
The Beekman 1802 team also found that the product recommendations for different skin types (generated through Perfect Corp. AI and delivered through the friendly mascot Goatie) were spot on.
“We were all very impressed with the overall experience and how it combined true skincare expertise and recommendations with very engaging visuals and user-friendly education,” Farrell says. “We could see its value as a technical tool, and also that it was a lot of fun.”
Driving Education and Social Sharing
The fun consumers have using the My Skin Biome tool has proven to be something they like to share across social media.
“We are seeing excitement from our tool being shared on social,” says Farrell. “People who use this AI technology not only find it useful in crafting a more customized skincare routine, but they find it to be a fun and enjoyable experience that they want to share with their friends on social.”
Farrell sees this same excitement translating into stronger customer loyalty, noting: “Once someone uses our AI skin experience, it is just natural that they will want to return to monitor results of their skin care efforts. The goal, in addition to educating the consumer and driving sales, is to earn increased loyalty and repeat purchases.”
Using AI Technology to Create a Powerful Education Tool: “The Pain Point for the Consumer is ‘Which Product is Right for My Skin?’”
The My Skin Biome tool, created with Perfect Corp. AI technology, has proven to be a powerful educational tool in two different ways: 1) Helping consumers learn what product is best for their skin; and 2) Providing a platform to educate consumers about the importance of protecting the skin microbiome.
“The My Skin Biome tool addresses two pain points very efficiently,” says Scalamandre. “The pain point for the consumer is: ‘Which product is right for my skin?’ Few really know much about their skin health, and the world offers a vast number of products to choose from. Our pain point, as a brand, is how to educate consumers about the importance of maintaining a healthy skin microbiome so their skincare products work better and are healthier for the skin. Along the way they can appreciate the significance of our use of goat milk, and how this certified microbiome-friendly ingredient includes so many micronutrients to nourish the skin microbiome to keep it in a healthy balance.”
The skin microbiome is complex, and can be difficult to understand, yet protecting and nourishing the health of the skin microbiome is foundational to skin health and skin beauty.
“We designed the My Skin Biome tool with skin education built into it,” Farrell says. “We use the Perfect Corp. AI technology to develop a precise analysis of a person’s skin condition. And then we have the user-friendly presence of Goatie to explain some of the science behind different skin conditions, and the why behind what products we are recommending. This is really the first digital tool that links basic skin concerns to education tidbits around products and the microbiome. Our neighbors gain an appreciation for why our brand is based on goat milk—the first ever ingredient that's certified to microbiome friendly.”
Establishing Thought Leadership in Skincare Space
Beekman 1802 sees its AI-powered My Skin Biome tool as a way to not just delight its neighbors, but to also build upon its reputation as being a thought leader in the field.
“We believe that basing products on enhancing the health of the skin microbiome is the future of skincare,” Farrell says. “Beekman 1802 is leading the way in creating skin care products that are microbiome friendly. Our My Skin Biome tool has helped position us as a skin care authority in this very important realm of nourishing the skin microbiome.”
“Perfect Corp. is a Great Partner … Brought Our Ideas to Life in a Fun, Engaging, Experiential Way”
Beekman 1802 enjoys working with Perfect Corp. because of its industry-leading AI/AR technology, and because of its dedication to helping Beekman 1802 realize its AI skin experience vision.
“Perfect Corp. is a great partner and really easy to work with,” Farrell says. “They listened to us and then brought our ideas and concepts to life in a way that was fun, engaging, and experiential for our consumers.”
Beekman 1802 was also impressed with how Perfect Corp. helped them create a truly customized experience for its neighbors.
“Perfect Corp. was very collaborative from the beginning, and very adaptive to our goals—including a quick launch timeline that they met early. What really surprised us was how they were able to meet our desire for a customized app. We wanted to put our own brand DNA on it and bring our world into the app by using things like Goatie, and our way of facial diagraming. They came through. They helped us create a unique experience.”
About Perfect Corp
Perfect Corp. is the leading SaaS AI and AR beauty and fashion tech solutions provider, dedicated to transforming shopping experiences through empowering brands to embrace the digital-first world. By partnering with the largest names in the industry, Perfect Corp.’s suite of enterprise solutions delivers synergistic, technology-driven experiences that facilitate sustainable, ultra-personalized, and engaging shopping journeys, as well as equipping brands with next generation of consumer goods. Perfect Corp. offers a complementary suite of mobile apps, including YouCam Makeup and YouCam Perfect, to provide a consumer platform to virtually try-on new products, perform skin diagnoses, edit photos, and share experiences with the YouCam Community.
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