In a significant move for personalized skincare brand, PROVEN has announced the expansion of its unique partnership with leading beauty retailer Sephora. This collaboration marks PROVEN's debut in retail and Sephora's initial venture into skincare personalization. The partnership, which was initially launched digitally, is now extending to ten Sephora brick-and-mortar locations across the nation.
The in-store experience offers customers interactive video displays where they can scan a QR code to take PROVEN's 3-minute Skin Genome Quiz. This quiz helps formulate personalized skincare solutions for each customer. Sephora beauty advisors will be on hand to answer any queries. PROVEN's algorithm uses the quiz responses to analyze millions of factors and select the best ingredients for each individual's skin. The company also adjusts its formulations every eight weeks to adapt to changing seasons, skin tolerance to active ingredients, geographical moves, aging, and pregnancy.
Customers can conveniently checkout on their phones and have their products shipped directly to their homes. They can also learn about the benefits of personalized skincare throughout the in-store experience. The partnership between PROVEN and Sephora began in 2018 when PROVEN participated in Sephora Accelerate, the retailer’s brand incubation program. The planning for this partnership started in August 2021.
Ming S. Zhao, co-founder and CEO of PROVEN, expressed her excitement about the partnership extension and the positive reception to their digital launch.
“PROVEN has designed a brick-and-mortar skincare personalization experience in Sephora stores that does not compromise on formula, quality, or delivery,” said PROVEN co-founder and CEO Ming S. Zhao. “This has not been easy, but working alongside the amazing team at Sephora, we have built something unique that will allow even more consumers to build a long-term relationship with our brand. I’ve always said that personalization is the future of skincare, and this partnership extension coupled with the overwhelmingly positive reception to our digital launch proves that to be true. All of us at PROVEN continue to be proud to be partnering with Sephora and to provide an entirely new customer base with skincare solutions as unique as they are.”
Brooke Banwart, SVP Skincare Merchandising at Sephora, echoed Zhao's sentiments, expressing her delight at expanding their partnership.
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with PROVEN and continue bringing our clients effective, personalized skincare solutions in this exciting format,” said Brooke Banwart, SVP Skincare Merchandising at Sephora. “With its new presence in select Sephora stores, PROVEN’s cutting-edge system will now be available for more clients to explore, as we support their journey to finding bespoke products that fit their unique skincare needs and goals.”
The brick-and-mortar experience is available at select Sephora locations including Americana, Glendale, CA; The Grove, Los Angeles, CA; Valley Fair, Santa Clara, CA; Pembroke Pines, FL; Lakeside, Metairie, LA; Somerset, Troy, MI; Garden State, Paramus, NJ; Soho, New York, NY; North Park, Dallas, TX; and Tysons Corner, VA. The online experience continues to be available to all customers in the United States via Sephora's main website and app.
Since its inception in 2017, PROVEN has grown rapidly to become the leading luxury skincare personalization brand. It has received numerous accolades, including the 2018 MIT Artificial Intelligence Technology Award and the Best Use of Technology at the 2022 Glossy Beauty Awards. The company has also achieved over $30 million in revenue in just three years, expanded internationally, and was granted two groundbreaking personalization patents.
PROVEN's proprietary Skin Genome Project, the largest beauty database on earth, enables the creation of simple, personalized, and clinically proven skincare products at scale. The project takes into account the effectiveness of over 20,238 skincare ingredients, information about over 100,000 individual products, over 20 million testimonials from real people, over 4,000 scientific publications, and the water hardness, humidity level, and UV index where the customer lives. The PROVEN products available through this partnership include Personalized Cleaner, Personalized Day Moisturizer, and Personalized Night Cream.
