Skincalories: Redefining Beauty with Music, Manga, and a Virtual Ambassador

Skincalories is a beauty brand that’s shaking up the industry with its innovative approach to marketing and customer engagement. Launched in 2019, the brand is specifically targeted towards active individuals with busy lifestyles, those who are always on the go. Instead of traditional celebrity endorsements, Skincalories is forging a unique path by leveraging music, comics, games, and movies to connect with its audience.

A Multi-Sensory Experience

“We use music, comics, games and movies to brand a product. We’re building a connection with our audience in many different ways,” explains Shilee Jwel, executive director of Skincalories. “For instance, our audience are the digital nomads and the fitness buffs that are always on the go. So, our songs are like the playlist for them,”

This commitment to a multi-sensory experience is evident in their recent USD1.9 million deal with music labels like Kennel AB to produce ten original songs. “This is all part of a multi-sensory experience that we are creating for our customers,” says Axl Loon, vice president of strategy.

Meet MAGDA: The Virtual Brand Ambassador

At the heart of the Skincalories brand is MAGDA, a virtual ambassador who embodies the brand’s values and resonates with its target audience. “MAGDA tells the narrative of the brand within her own story itself. She sort of mirrors the journey that our customers have in their own personal growth,” explains Jwel.

MAGDA is more than just a pretty face; she has her own personality, dreams, emotions, and aspirations. Her story, while independent of the products themselves, mirrors the brand’s growth and the journey of its customers. She will be starring in the company’s first music video for “Vroom Vroom,” the first in a series of original tracks in collaboration with Kennel AB. The music video will be a visual spectacle, brought to life with advanced 3D animation and visual effects by artists from Ukraine, Israel, China, and Spain.

MAGDA’s journey will also be explored in a manga series called “Broken Seal,” further immersing fans in the brand’s world.

Why Choose a Virtual Ambassador?

In a world where brands compete for the attention of top celebrities, Skincalories made a bold decision to embrace a virtual character as their ambassador. According to Madelyn Yeo, CEO of Skincalories, the brand wanted a more personal and meaningful connection with its customers.

“With our brand, the one thing we try to do is make it personal and meaningful for every customer. But with a celebrity, we found that they had too many restrictions. For instance, we might not have been able to produce a comic or a music video with a celebrity. But as a brand we wanted to explore these,” Yeo explains.

By creating and owning MAGDA, Skincalories ensures complete control over its brand image and creative vision. “It seems that once something becomes successful, people take it away. In this case, we thought that everything we invest in we should have control so that it will be possible for us to be flexible and adjust accordingly to the different things that might come our way,” adds Yeo, drawing from her experience in the beauty distribution sector.

Looking Ahead: New Products and Smart Retail Solutions

The new music and music video are just the beginning for Skincalories. The brand is launching two new products, the Active Cleansing Mask and Active Beauty Balm, designed to meet the needs of the active urbanite.

By 2025, Skincalories plans to revolutionize its distribution with smart retail solutions. They aim to roll out 200 smart vending machines across eight Asian countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. These machines will provide convenient access to Skincalories products in high-traffic areas like gyms, festivals, and retail spaces.

Singapore will be the first country to see these smart vending machines, with 50 machines planned for deployment by next year. The company will use data collected from these initial machines to refine the customer experience.

Complementing the vending machines is the SkinS mobile application, which will not only connect with the machines but also serve as a platform for fans to engage with MAGDA’s story through comics and music videos. The app will also provide skincare advice and exclusive offers.

Ready to experience the future of beauty? Explore the world of Skincalories and discover a brand that’s more than just skincare – it’s a lifestyle.