The brand started its expansion into Asia with Singapore as its launch pad. Petra relocated to the city-state for three years to nurture its growth in the region.
Since then, PIXI’s business has flourished in Asia, where the brand’s focus on effective, natural ingredients and products like Glow Tonic resonate with Asia’s skin care-first beauty culture.
PIXI’s makeup-skin care hybrid products resonate strongly with Asian consumers, where innovative formulations and multifunctional beauty products are in high demand.
Petra attributes PIXI’s success in Asia to its strong foundation in natural beauty.
“We’re getting a very positive response from our Asian markets. And I think that’s because the brand is very authentic and natural. We don’t use artificial fragrances, everything is vegan.”
Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia, Petra said that the brand has maintained a timeless appeal that attracts a broad consumer base.
“We don’t follow trends. No, we don’t do the trend thing. Natural beauty is a timeless thing. My job is to create those products.”
Chief executive Felix Strand added: “We’re used to 25 years of ups and downs. What has carried us through is Petra’s vision of simple, effective, accessibly priced beauty. That has really stood the test of time. Petra sees her role as simplifying the beauty routine and creating products that work for the everyday.”
Glowing on in Asia
PIXI launched in Soho, London in 1999. It celebrated its 25th anniversary this year and held a celebration in Singapore.
The company has much to celebrate, with Felix revealing that the brand has achieved triple-digit growth in Asia over the past few years, reflecting its strength in the market.
“The Asia business is growing a lot. We’re still launching in new countries, new retailers. I think we did something different from others during the COVID years and that was looking at things as an economic pause versus and economic shift. We didn’t stop marketing, production, innovation and development, we didn’t let anybody go. So once the pandemic stopped, we were on a spring and ready to go,” he said.
Today, the brand has expanded across Asia into markets such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, and China via cross-border e-commerce.
Felix has observed a major opportunity for the brand’s makeup products in Asia where consumer preference leans towards natural, no-makeup looks.
Furthermore, the company is aiming to strengthen its presence in Asia.
“It’s about going bigger, deeper, and bolder. The retailers are liking it, the markets are liking it, so we want to build on that,” said Felix.
He highlighted three key markets that will drive its growth in Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, and India.
Moving forward, the brand will be launching new products, including its first ever hand cream.
The upcoming product, Hand Hero, is a purifying hand lotion with ingredients such as ceramides, rosemary oil, and tea tree oil.
Felix teased that fans of the brand can expect more innovations from the brand in the next 12 months.
“You didn’t hear it from me, but there’s probably going to be some fun expansions coming up. It’s 25 years of glow this year, so I gave Petra and the NPD team the mandate of just making the best products and not to worry about the costs. We need to celebrate out 25th year with a bang.”
