COVID-19 forced businesses to shut down indefinitely and pivot to digital strategies in March 2020, but Oxecure was preparing to launch in a few weeks. Assistant Brand Manager Mia De Jesus said the high-risk decision to launch at such a tumultuous time was brought on by the team being skincare users themselves. “We thought that skincare is something people would always use despite being locked in their houses or not. We already had the products that work, so why not share it to the rest of the Filipinos? We decided to go for it! After a few months, ‘maskne’ started to become a new term during the pandemic, and the rest was history.”
Photo: Oxecure
Contrary to expectations of a decline, Oxecure performed well throughout the pandemic—growing over 3x in 2021 and 2x in 2022. The risk to launch in 2020 paid off as one of Oxecure’s flagship products quickly went viral with the Gen Z* and Millennial** markets.
A Mud-dy phenomenon
Acne Clear Powder Mud, a spot corrector part of the original lineup, became an instant sensation. Customers posted thousands of photos and videos of themselves on Instagram and TikTok, proudly sporting pink dots—a result of putting Acne Clear Powder Mud on their breakouts. Acne Clear Powder Mud not only helped clear their pimples, it gave them the confidence to show how they dealt with them and their real skin without any filters.
Since then, Acne Clear Powder Mud has become a best-seller, with over 3.5 million pieces sold to date, and is currently growing over 50% in 2023.
Photo: Oxecure
Seeing the initial performance of Acne Clear Powder Mud, which came in a sachet, made Oxecure realize sachets were an untapped market in the skincare industry since the Philippines is a “sachet nation.” Skincare in the Philippines is a P46.9 billion business as of the end of 2021, according to a 2022 Euromonitor Report.
“[We] decided to launch more sachets because of two things: accessibility and trial. First, we wanted to provide dermatologically-tested solutions to Filipinos from different walks of life. Sachets were a great way to give consumers options on how much they will spend in a single day. Second, many Filipinos love to experiment with their products, and releasing smaller sizes allows them to do so. It gives them the liberty to try a product without overcommitting, especially when it’s new in the market. We understand that for most people, to see is to believe.”
The second sachet launched was the Acne Defense Prebio Serum, a product that is clinically proven to reduce post-acne marks in as fast as one week. Oxecure has sold over 700,000 pieces in just 2 years.
The future of skincare’s “sachet culture”
“With Oxecure’s promising performance in the past 3 years, our outlook is at least a double-digit growth year on year. Our hope is that over the next 5 years, we continue to release more solutions Filipinos will love and reach more of the market with our affordable yet effective products,” says Brand Director Caitlin Gregorio.
“Oxecure products address some of the most common skin concerns of [the Philippine] market, which is acne and sensitive skin. Our solutions ensure effective results to give our consumers value for money, which is very important to Filipinos. Aside from this, we also make sure Oxecure products work well in the Philippine weather—hydrating but not oily, effective on acne but not overly drying, and moisturizing but not heavy on the skin.”
Photo: Oxecure
True to what Caitlin Gregorio said, they have continued to release affordable yet effective products for Filipinos in sachets (aside from full-sized tubes): Acne Clear Oil Control Moisturizer, Ultra Gentle Moisturizer, and Daily Sunscreen SPF50+ PA++++.
But with sachets made of plastic, and the Philippines being one of the leaders in plastic pollution, Oxecure knows its impact on the environment and proclaims that it will “take steps to work with LGUs, communities, and the informal waste sectors to create waste recovery programs aligned with the Extended Producer Responsibility (ERP) Act.”
“ERP is the environmental policy approach and practice that requires producers to be environmentally responsible throughout the life cycle of a product, especially its post-consumer or end-of-life stage.
Through our collaborative efforts with other organizations, Oxecure targets recovery of the plastic product footprint generated by the sales of our sachets.”
