Challenge

A global home appliance maker saw an immense opportunity to enter the beauty device market . Technological knowhow wasn’t an issue, but rather how to position themselves credibly in a market already full of strong competitors. The ultimate goal was to create a brand manifesto that resonated with consumers across every East Asian market, in combination with an innovation pipeline of products that epitomised that manifesto’s central promise.

Diagnosis

Yuzu Kyodai’s first insight was splitting the problem into two distinct yet interlinked projects:

  1. Brand Concept: we made an extensive study of current and emerging beauty discourses across Japan, Korea, and China: by utilising country experts, cultural intelligence and semiotics, we tracked key macro-changes. This work on how beauty is shown and described according to context and intent revealed how women across the region conceive its role. The result was a meta-map of all manifestations of beauty, from which we identified the one most resonant with the brand and how it could position itself for success. This was a narrative of health and balance empowering women to show their inner beauty – a very powerful new message in a category that had been more about gadgets and quick fixes.
  2. Innovation Pipeline: A five market study across the region helped us understand consumer perceptions of different beauty technologies and beauty rituals. Combining the results with the brand manifesto made it possible to decide what technologies should be turned into products to fit the brand vision. Subsequent innovation work with the development team led to a comprehensive development pipeline for new launches over the following years.

Methodology

  • Semiotics
  • Cultural Intelligence
  • Expert interviews

  • Focus Groups
  • Innovation Workshops
  • Strategy Consultancy

  • Supplier Evaluation sessions
  • Design and Execution Consultancy

Impact

Since our work with them, the company has become the world’s largest in beauty devices, a market that is predicted to grow at a 20% compound annual growth rate to $97 billion in 2023.