Perhaps every beauty junkie’s earliest memory of a cool brand (for millennials at least) would be Glossier. It was the embodiment of the idea of “cool” at that time: minimalist, aesthetically pleasing, and relatable. Its marketing communications resonated with consumers so much, it took the world by storm—even creating a millennial pink trend that other brands would adopt soon after. In the Philippines, there is a comparable cool brand: Sunnies Face. And you, dear reader, would understand this well.
Sunnies Face immediately gained popularity right after its launch, much like Glossier. The two even share many similar values and approaches (so much so that people accused the brand of being a Glossier copycat). But indulge in this introductory comparison because it serves a purpose: to propose that Sunnies Face might just be a more interesting case study to explore the makings and secrets behind a cool brand.
The Origins
But first, what is the definition of a “cool brand”? The American Marketing Association provides a scale composed of 10 key characteristics: “Consumers perceive them to be extraordinary, aesthetically appealing, energetic, high status, rebellious, original, authentic, subcultural, iconic, and popular.” Lucky for Sunnies Face, their mother brand hit the nail on the head across the board. It should be noted that Sunnies Face enjoys the successes of its origin brand, Sunnies Studios, a stylish eyewear label that started in 2013 under the name Sunnies by Charlie. At that time, the brand gained ground through its modern retro aesthetic, a nod to dreamy Los Angeles in the form of pastel pink, turquoise blue, and 1950s-inspired design. It was a visual offering that was fresh and the market gobbled it up. So when they teased the launch of Sunnies Face, their fans naturally followed suit while beauty junkies curiously anticipated to see their take on makeup.
It’s a well-known fact who the famous founders of the entire Sunnies empire are. Georgina Wilson, Bea Soriano-Dee, Eric Dee, Martine Cajucom-Ho, and Jess Wilson, launched Sunnies Face at a time when celebrity-owned beauty brands barely existed. And this worked to their advantage. Obviously, they were their brand’s first group of influencers whose celebrity status helped catapult Sunnies Face into immediate popularity.
The Branding
Such were the preliminary factors that laid the foundation for the brand. Now, let’s delve into the clear-cut reason for their covetability: the optics. Aside from sharing the same creative direction as Sunnies Studios, the beauty brand upholds its own distinct visual identity. This is largely credited to their creative director, Martine Cajucom-Ho whose personal taste mirrors the brand’s look and feel.
It may not be obvious from the get-go but the content you see from the brand comes from a wealth of inspiration. In previous interviews with various publications, the American Apparel-trained Filipina has a passion for furniture design, art, and fashion, among many things. It’s this colorful backdrop that has been keeping Sunnies Face visually interesting for years. At its inception, the brand embraced the pink trend emblematic of that time, and over the years it has given its own interpretations to both past and present design trends.
What’s with optics that make it so vital for a beauty brand? Any brand for that matter? Much like a person’s outfit or appearance, a brand’s visuals are the first interaction any (potential) consumer will have with them. And first impressions last. But more than that, as cliché as this may sound, Sunnies Face inarguably brings something new to the table. For some people who may not know much about futurist interior design, iconic pop culture moments, or even trendy AI-generated content, it could be said that Sunnies Face is their door into that fantastic world of art.
The Machine
In line with that, consumers are able to fully immerse themselves into this tastefully curated world via social media. A lot has already been said about how IG-worthy the brand’s profiles are, so let’s not get into that. More than their picture-perfect feeds, Sunnies Face gives a lot of thought to every single post.
Behind this are the teams who ideate and create the material you see online and offline. They don’t randomly just whip them up though: It’s all about fleshing out a singular idea into a cohesive campaign, and it begins with the product.
One of its biggest campaigns to date was for The Powder, marketed as the ultimate setting powder that would feel “as luxurious on your skin as it does in the palm of your hand.” As Sunnies provides equal weight to the packaging as the product itself, the compact was inspired by the smooth contours of the pebble. This translated into various 3D videos, including one that referenced Sandro Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus.’ To emphasize its compatibility with multiple skin tones, the team called upon fans and models to do ‘wear test’ videos that featured their candid feedback.
From their team of graphic designers and multimedia producers to social media leads, it takes a village to turn the vision into a reality. This would mean that you need to hire the right people for the job. It should come as no surprise then that Sunnies Face and its sister brands (Sunnies Studios, Sunnies Café, and Sunnies Coffee) are run by people who share the same passion for beauty and art. They are young creatives who interpret the creative director’s vision in contemporary ways – e.g. trendy social media formats, TikTok videos, and brand activations.
The thing is with a brand as creatively fueled as they are, you’d have to keep that fuel at a steady, healthy level. In other words, how does a brand as big as Sunnies Face keep its people energized, inspired, and motivated?
A look at their LinkedIn profile shows various team activities and celebrations for various product launches, including a cool yoga sesh for the release of SunSafe, a lightweight gel sunscreen. The team also utilizes the Sunnies HQ for on-site work which helps foster rapport. Plus, the mid-century-inspired interiors keep their creative juices in check. “So proud to see our company has survived. The most important thing for me is the way we took care of our people,” shared Georgina in an interview with Philippine Star.
The Hype
It is clear that the brand’s world-building is flawless, thanks to the people and the processes that enable it. But a brand cannot hype itself up. As with any other beauty brand, good publicity is crucial. What sets Sunnies Face apart though are its inventive activations and Instagrammable parties that are in a league of its own.
This year alone, they held a summer-inspired booth at the Sunnies Café (obviously), a whimsical Fluffbalm Café at Sampiro restaurant that looks straight out of a Wes Anderson film, and perhaps their most extravagant happening yet: The Powder party. The white-themed fête boasted a life-sized compact powder (for IG content purposes, of course), dancing ballerinas, interactive booths, and a custom DeLorean DMC-12 from 1983.
These events are attended by what they call “friends of Sunnies” who have close relations with the brand, such as influencers they work with or close friends of the founders and team. It’s not a coincidence that most of these folks fall under the “cool” category as well, making it the party you wish you were invited to.
Sunnies Face is also proactive when it comes to seeding PR packages to key opinion leaders. They make sure the individuals they select match the spirit of the brand. Their pool of people consists mostly of Filipino creatives from various fields or individuals (regardless of gender) who simply have a good eye for beauty and style. It takes a well-updated team to know who’s who. Aside from that, the brand makes sure to account for all horizons by sending to people abroad as well, in an effort to get the word out globally.
The Strategy
Just five years after its launch, Sunnies Face has achieved multiple milestones. Recently, it has announced that they now ship worldwide, after only shipping locally, to the U.S., and to China. It was a win for onlookers from other continents who had been waiting for the day they’d get to open the sleek packaging and try the buzzed-about formulas.
But if you’re thinking – for a brand who has been making noise globally even early on (you remember the headlines that go ‘This Filipino Brand Sells 1 Lipstick Every 30 Seconds’?) why only ship worldwide now? Sunnies Face is a master at timing. They believe that a slow and steady pace is better than releasing everything everywhere all at once. “I personally don’t like when makeup brands overwhelm me with stuff, so I like the idea of having [customers] form a relationship with Fluffmatte, then moving on to others,” co-founder Georgina Wilson shared in an interview with Elle before their U.S. launch last year which had only shipped their best-selling weightless matte lipstick.
Such an approach is true down to the way they curate their product lines. For the first release of the first Fluffmatte collection, they stuck to nine perfect shades that would flatter all skin tones—a result of testing 350 shades with over 22 different formulas. People don’t see the calculated and long decision-making that goes behind the scenes.
At the core of it all is the product, packaged so well with everything that was just discussed that its integrity could easily be overlooked. The brand has a strong focus on technology, innovation, and efficacy geared at addressing multiple concerns in one. “When we create our product lines, we think of how to bring ease into people’s lives without compromising on quality and design,” shared Georgina with Forbes. “We design products to be intuitive, with the goal of elevating everyday beauty.” This clear-cut goal has made the brand a competitive player in the global market for accessible makeup and skincare, all while waving the flag for Filipino beauty.
The Secret
To sum it all up, how does Sunnies Face maintain its cool image? While it undoubtedly satisfies all the supposed “marketing components” of coolness, it is every brand’s challenge to keep its consumers interested. And that’s tough to achieve. What makes a cool brand isn’t an intangible X-factor. In fact, such desirability is a result of a genuine understanding of what people want. Sunnies Face knows what its target market yearns for in beauty products and finds ways to engage with its community on a deeper level. It is an interesting case study not only because of the company’s synergy across departments but also because it is constantly opening doors for Filipino beauty and putting it on the map. And that’s pretty cool.
