HigherDOSE, a wellness tech brand known for bringing infrared beauty biohacking to the masses, is launching its product assortment into Sephora.com today, September 19, 2023, and will expand into Sephora's UK market in October 2023.
The retailer will initially carry the brand's Infrared Sauna Blanket, Infrared PEMF Go Mat, Red Light Face Mask, Red Light Neck Enhancer, Infrared Sauna Blanket Insert, Sauna Blanket Bag, Supercharge Copper Body Brush, Chill Chews, Detox Drops, High-Dration Powder, Glow Serum, Get Salty Spray and Serotonin Soak Salt.
The brand launched its infrared sauna destinations in 2016 and has since expanded to at-home products designed to promote recovery, detoxification and relaxation.
While the company still boasts a sauna at New York's 11 Howard Hotel, but the brand has overwhelmingly focused on its DTC at-home product business. This transition was supported by the consumer dynamics related to the pandemic lockdown era.
As the COVID pandemic has receded, HigherDOSE has again pivoted to establishing worldwide retail and wholesale distribution, including the latest Sephora partnership.
The brand is actively engaged in additional product development according to HigherDOSE's co-founders and co-CEOs, Katie Kaps and Lauren Berlingeri. Both executives took some time to discuss the brand's evolution with Global Cosmetic Industry.
"During the pandemic the primary focus was immunity strength, which infrared deeply supports," say Kaps and Berlingeri. "In 2023 we’ve also seen a huge uptick of consumer interested in non-invasive skin enhancements. Red Light Therapy has flourished into a mainstream 'must have' item for the beauty world. This is likely due to celebrities speaking out about this alternative to plastic surgery and more data being available to quantify science."
"Sephora is the leading global retailer for beauty products," say HigherDOSE co-founders and co-CEOs Katie Kaps and Lauren Berlingeri. "They’re also beginning to expand their self care and wellness technology offerings, with HigherDOSE being at the forefront of this category growth. With additional marketing support from Sephora Squad influencers, the marketing synergy makes this an ideal home to sell our beauty biohacking products."
"Our mission has always been to make holistic recovery and beauty biohacking accessible to as many consumers as possible," say Kaps and Berlingeri. "Our origin with owned locations was pivotal to communicating the brand experience of HigherDOSE and creating a community of advocates including celebrities, athletes and health professionals."
They add, "We knew direct to consumer products were essential to scaling beyond the tri-state area; however, we also felt passionately about empowering consumers to curate their own at-home DOSE experiences. So the sauna blanket, infrared PEMF mat and red light therapy hero technology products were born. We launched the blanket pre-pandemic, but as the COVID-19 crisis hit, we made a strategic decision to double down on DTC products and close a few locations to consolidate overhead costs."
The co-founders conclude, "In 2023 we now have a thriving e-commerce business, a bustling flagship spa location in SoHo and are expanding DTC efforts with retail partnerships that also allow the brand to be experienced IRL."
But what makes Sephora the right partner for HigherDOSE?
The executives explain, "Sephora is the leading global retailer for beauty products. They’re also beginning to expand their self care and wellness technology offerings, with HigherDOSE being at the forefront of this category growth. With additional marketing support from Sephora Squad influencers, the marketing synergy makes this an ideal home to sell our beauty biohacking products."
Kaps and Berlingeri note that they're planning for further growth ahead.
"Our goal is to truly be a collaborative and innovative partner with Sephora in building out the self care and wellness technology category," they explain. "We are the first brand offering the #1 selling sauna blanket and offering PEMF recovery products to Sephora's customers. In addition to the 13 products we are launching with, we will be partnering with them on new product launches in the future. We are thrilled to have this expanded platform and audience footprint to educate Sephora's customers on the importance of creating rituals of self care at home. Sephora is the largest and most mainstream retailer we have partnered with to date, and we believe they will add incremental sales and tremendous value to our brand."
