Solawave is going deeper into consumable products, starting with skin care.
The brand, which launched in 2020 with a multitasking facial wand and a serum, is going heavier on topicals, starting with its new LightBoost range, which entails two serums, a moisturizer and an eye cream. They debut Oct. 16 on the brand’s website before rolling out to Ulta, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Amazon. Prices range from $38 to $56.
Industry sources expect the products to reach $10 million in retail sales for their first 12 months on the market.
Andrew Silberstein, the brand’s founder and chief executive officer, said that topicals had always been in the cards for the brand. Going broader on them, he said, was a tenet of Solawave’s growth strategy.
“Since launch, we’ve expanded into numerous tools and topicals that support the benefits of those devices,” he said, acknowledging that companies that specialize in tools and devices typically face an uphill battle when launching ancillary products.
“We equally feel that there are more than enough topicals in the world,” he said. “Our key mission in launching the business was to make sure consumers first learned about us when we had topicals. One of the mistakes tool brands have made is launching topicals far too late in their brand journey, and it doesn’t feel meaningful.”
The brand’s existing serum, among other products, seem to be striking a chord.
“Sometimes people launch topicals that don’t support the devices themselves. We launched device-specific topicals in the past, and we’ve found that topicals synergizing with the tools is really working with consumers,” he said.
To that end, Silberstein has planned a broad marketing foray that touches on consumers with varied knowledge of skin care. “We’re getting larger, upper-funnel audiences, and we’re hitting a lot of people that are aware of acne or crows feet. We now do catered marketing that’s about education for them, and for the most skeptical skin care consumers,” he said. “That leans more into science and the ingredient story. We’re personalizing through our marketing channels.”
The four new products, which include a technology called the LightBoost Complex, are meant to enhance the brand’s existing suite of LED devices. Those include red light masks for face, neck and eye; a 4-in-1 massage wand that also incorporates heat, massage and galvanic current; a miniature red light for travel, and a red-and-blue light tool to spot treat acne.
