Beiersdorf Invests in Routinely Personalized Skin Care

Underscoring its commitment to digital, personalized skin care, Beiersdorf is investing in Routinely, a new brand. The move comes through Beiersdorf's Oscar&Paul venture capital unit and is a joint effort with Belgium's 9.5 Ventures.

“We must reconsider the traditional, static way of thinking when it comes to skin care,” says Charlotte Van Loock, co-founder and CMO at Routinely. “Our skin is a living, breathing organ that is influenced by myriad factors, such as eating habits, day-to-day environment, sleep patterns, hormonal balance and many more. Generic products fail to cater to this individual specificity of our skin. Our goal is to create more clarity in the skin care segment. We want to offer consumers exactly and exclusively what they need to improve their skin health. Active ingredients that are proven to work while providing smart, convenient care.”

Routinely focuses on a modular skin care ritual emphasizing the dynamic nature of the skin. An initial online questionnaire and a complementary app help consumers match the perfect combination of a total of 13 unisex serums for their skin. Through the consumer’s self-assessment supplemented by an advanced algorithm, the daily skin care routine is individually adjusted based on current measurement results in real time via app. Apart from the consumers’ current skin care requirements, external factors such as humidity, temperature, air quality, or solar radiation are also taken into account. 
Ascan Voswinckel, Head of Oscar&Paul Beiersdorf Venture Capital, considers the investment as an important step toward implementing the company’s C.A.R.E.+ strategy and the successful promotion of innovative business models.

“We know from comprehensive feedback and studies how relevant personalized skin care is to the consumer,” said Voswinckel. “We strongly believe in the pioneering concept of Routinely brought about by the team with an exceptional deal of dedication and spirit. As an investor and strategic partner, we collaborate closely with the team and share our expertise to bring Routinely to market quickly and evolve it successfully.” 

The Routinely investment is part of a wide range of personalization activities at Beiersdorf under its C.A.R.E.+ strategy. It illustrates that the company is driving the personalization of skin care at very different levels. This includes, for example, the AI-based web app Nivea Skin Guide, which uses selfies to analyze individual skin needs and to provide personal product and care recommendations, as well as the company’s first personalized face care brand O.W.N. The products of the Routinely brand will be sold exclusively in D2C distribution via www.routinely.com. 

“Our investment in Routinely also reflects the potential we see in serving the increased online consumer demand – a trend that has been further reinforced by the coronavirus pandemic,” explained Voswinckel.

The launch will initially be in Belgium and the Netherlands, with other European countries to follow.