REFY have been dominating the Beauty industry since they launched in 2020 with their iconic Brow Sculpt. Since then the brand, and its founders Jenna Meek and Jess Hunt, have been an unstoppable force in the industry.
Their success is largely down to their products, which have been curated to fill gaps in the market and provide consumers with affordable products, at an accessible price whilst retaining that luxury feel.
However, it can also largely be attributed to their marketing and social media strategy. From multi-platform marketing with an identifiable brand image and aesthetic, to curating community experiences, REFY knows what their audience want and how to give it to them.
REFY has a strong presence on multiple platforms, with a collective audience of over 1 million across Instagram and TikTok alone. Not to mention, the brand is supported by co-founder and influencer Jess Hunt’s personal pages which she uses to further market the brand’s products.
Their effective social media presence is a reflection on both of the founder’s having developed a solid understanding of how their audience interacts with digital content and how this can be employed by brands to effectively create buzz around new launches, which eventually translates into sales.
It may even be argued that Jess’s own social media creates more brand exposure than the actual REFY accounts. By talking to her audience about how she uses the products and why she advocates for them, not only does she increase the authenticity of the brand, but she is also curating the sense of community that is now synonymous with REFY.
REFY have also taken UGC to a whole new level. Not only do they send their products to brand ambassadors and influencers to test, they also involve their users in the campaigns themselves.
This April, their team set up ‘The REFY project’. The concept of this pop-up was to invite people of all ages, sizes, races and genders to studios in LA and London to trial the new skin tint and become part of the launch campaign. It took ‘tested on real people’ to a whole new level.
Over 800 people have been matched with a 100% shade match as a result of this project, demonstrating how REFY caters for everyone in their products.
In the following months we’ve seen them continue this community curation to carry their marketing from the digital realm to real life. IRL, if you will.
In the summer, REFY’s closest community members were invited on a branded trip to a Mallorca Villa and their community-first approach went viral. Numerous posts and videos were made discussing how influencer trips were out and community trips were in. It’s safe to say that no matter what REFY do, it’s going to go viral and it’s going to be a marketing success.
This villa experience allowed the community members to spend time with REFY’s Jess Hunt, embrace the brand’s values and enjoy the natural, effortless beauty of the villa that aligned with REFY’s image.
REFY has seen unparalleled success in the beauty industry, and no other brand is doing it quite like them.
This September, REFY opened a pop-up café in Paris which acted as dual promotion for their presence at Paris Fashion Week, and the launch of their new Plum shade for autumn.
Launching the Plum shade is a testament to how quickly they can predict and jump on trends, and thus, are ready with the shade of the season ahead of many other brands.
REFY have always known that community engagement both on and offline is the key to a successful marketing strategy, and brand success.
Has this strategy worked? The answer is undoubtably YES.
Last year, REFY’s revenue reached £24.2 million, with it set to exceed this yet again in 2024, and is now stocked in Sephora and Selfridges, with pop-ups appearing in stores across the UK.
If you weren’t already aware, this is not just a brand to watch, but the brand to beat. No one else is doing it quite like REFY and we’re ready to see what else they have in store for us!
