Iconic Beauty Branding

Since 1927, the luxurious skincare products by Erno Laszlo have graced the vanities of iconic beauties including the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Katherine Hepburn and Grace Kelly. Senior Vice President of Global Marketing Patricia Schuffenhauer gives us a peek into the inspirations and influences that have sparked some of the latest innovations at the exclusive skincare brand.

Three questions with Patricia Schuffenhauer:

1. How does your team generate new ideas?

Working with Erno Laszlo for the last eight years or so, I have come to see how the various tasks of new product development, research, public relations and global marketing are all interconnected and vital to generating new ideas and creating strong consumer interactions. We not only look to new products and trade shows within the makeup and beauty industry, our team also draws inspiration from the world of art, culture and various media outlets; even universities are a source of inspiration.

We like our teams to explore the world and travel offsite to find muses and get inspired, really delving into different cultures, market places and trying to understand the criteria happening all around us. Looking outside of the industry is what sets our products apart as we often draw from the world of food and flavor as well as the fast-paced world of technological development.

2. What is the biggest challenge you face when innovating?

We are a lot smaller than many of the brands in the beauty industry, which places a larger onus on the scope of research as well as the importance of building and maintaining strong relationships with our raw material suppliers. Being smaller also has its benefits as we can be more creative with our output and have less red tape to cut through, making us a lot faster to market than many of our competitors.

3. Can you give us some insights into what innovations Erno Laszlo has in store for the future?

We are always looking for new ways to be at the forefront of key developments within the industry and drawing innovations from the most interesting sources. For example, after keeping our eye on famous chefs and trends within the food industry, we noticed that raspberry was having a moment and one of our new products features raspberry stem cell ingredients. Another ingredient we're currently fascinated by is kale and its renowned health properties.

Remaining innovative involves a lot of team effort - you need the right balance between having the right people and being resourceful and open to new opportunities.