The Ordinary is taking its no-nonsense ethos below the neck.
The Deciem flagship brand — and perennial growth driver at parent company the Estée Lauder Cos. — is debuting three products dedicated for the body. There’s a salicylic acid serum, a niacinamide serum and a moisturizer, which range in price from $14 to $15.
All three products will launch at Sephora, as well as the brand’s website and TikTok Shop page, while Ulta Beauty is taking the two body serums. It’s also the first major launch since Lauder closed its deal to acquire Deciem for $1.7 billion, and Deciem’s net sales were expected to close the fiscal year at around $700 million, according to industry sources.
The body expansion is the latest for The Ordinary, which entered hair care two years ago. The appetite from consumers for body products was clearly there. “We’re very community driven, and very science driven. We’re looking at what our consumers are asking for,” said Nicola Kilner, Deciem’s chief executive officer. “We knew our community was using our face products on their body, which are potentially not the right concentrations for that surface area of skin.”
To that end, the three products have been formulated with two of The Ordinary’s bestselling hero ingredients — albeit in lower concentrations. They can also be used on the face, Kilner said.
“We take science and safety very seriously, and the current range of products really are designed for the face. When consumers started to use them on their bodies, we have to test for that,” Kilner said. “Niacinamide and salycilic acid are two of our bestselling products anyways.”
Consumer adoption is crucial, too, and is part of why The Ordinary chose ingredients that answer myriad concerns. “For body, there’s a huge category of people that don’t do anything besides cleansing, and a lot of people don’t want to layer two or three products to get the different benefits,” she said. “One of the biggest body concerns is body acne.”
The Ordinary’s also found success on TikTok Shop, where unit sales for individual products regularly land in the five-figure range, or above.
“It’s the future of retail,” Kilner said, adding that she thinks of the platform as an extension of The Ordinary’s DTC business. “It’s about accessibility, let’s be where the consumer is and let’s let them have the choice. With TikTok shop, the consumer is there, let’s not make them take more steps to purchase. We’re making it easy for them.”
She’s also planning to expand beyond just the three products. “These ones cover a huge group of people, but we have more products coming,” she said. They’ll follow the brand’s philosophy of straightforward ingredient education and marketing.
“There’s always such a focus on innovation and newness, and what’s nice about The Ordinary is that we’re trusted,” she said. “A lot of our brand’s inspiration comes from pharmaceuticals. If you have a headache, you’re likely going to pay $3 for aspirin, not $300 for a new ingredient, because you know what works.”
