CEO Interview: Skincare Brand Takes Loyalty — and Data — Personally

For brands like 100% Pure, a high-end beauty company founded on the principle of natural, non-toxic products, the digital landscape is a challenge and opportunity.

Over the past two decades, the brand has grown from a small operation in a Napa farmhouse to a thriving business with a loyal customer base, thanks to its ability to adapt to the changing dynamics of the market, CEO and co-founder Richard Kostick told PYMNTS.

What led to the company’s success? A strategic focus on personalization and mobile-first engagement.

“Over 75% of our traffic now comes from mobile devices, and half of those interactions result in purchases,” Kostick said. “We’ve always been strong D2C. It used to be email, and then Google Ads was the way to grow the business and SEO started becoming a part of that as we grew. And nowadays, everyone has shifted to their phones. One-half of the purchases come from mobile devices, plus 75% of the traffic. I would say that is an inflection point when you’re over 50% of the purchases from a mobile device.”

Given the dominance of smartphones amid mobile-first shopping experiences, 100% Pure has optimized its online presence for mobile devices, Kostick said. Whether browsing products, reading ingredient lists or making purchases, customers expect a seamless, intuitive experience that matches the convenience of their phones.

Using Data to Personalize Offers

Email marketing has evolved to include personalized, mobile-optimized campaigns that cater to individual preferences and behaviors, he said, adding, “people expect now to be personalized to. I remember when retargeting first came out. My internal team did not want us to take part in retargeting because they felt it was intrusive to show someone an offer when they just visited our website. But retargeting is a way to use all that data to personalize. If I didn’t have data on you, I can’t personalize to you.”

100% Pure uses a variety of data sources, including customer purchase histories, browsing behavior and preferences for certain products, to create personalized experiences, Kostick said. For example, if a customer regularly buys skincare products but doesn’t purchase makeup, they won’t be bombarded with offers for eyeshadow. Instead, the brand might send an email showcasing a new skincare product or a special offer related to their previous purchases. This level of personalization is key to building trust and relevance.

“It’s even more critical that you’re using your data to give someone what they want, when they want it, and the right deal or value that you’re offering to them as well,” he said.

Loyalty Programs Drive Business

While mobile and digital engagement are critical, 100% Pure has also found success by creating exclusive, experience-driven loyalty programs, Kostick said. Powered by Loyalty Lion, the loyalty program has become a key tool for retaining customers and encouraging repeat business. The company has refined the program over time to offer not just discounts, but also access to special events, early product launches and exclusive content.

“What I found interesting is the shift to experiences,” Kostick said. “Before people just wanted the straight offer, maybe a percentage off. Now they really value the kind of special treatment, special experience. So, it’s like access to a new product before anyone else has access to it, or a special VIP event where the store is closed during these two hours and only our VIP customers get to come and have this special experience.”

100% Pure’s loyalty program is the “glue” that keeps consumers connected to the website, he said.

“What keeps people on our branded websites are the loyalty programs,” he said. “You have to be mindful of your demographics because different people expect different things, especially when you use personalization.”

Promoting Natural Beauty Products

Kostick recounted the company’s early days in 2004 when he and his partners set out to create cosmetics made from ingredients that were effective and safe.

“It’s actually 20 years now in the making,” he said. “We started at our farmhouse in Napa in 2004 when we incorporated, and we did it because the products on the market … people didn’t know that the ingredients they were putting on their skin weren’t really good for them. We put together some products that are really healthy for you, and we couldn’t get a lab to understand what we wanted. So, we just decided we’ll handmake our skincare out of a farmhouse in Napa. And we got lucky because we got a large retailer to take it immediately and put it into 80 stores and that gave us a start.”

While the company’s products have always been the backbone of its success, the brand’s ability to evolve its marketing and distribution strategies has allowed it to thrive, Kostick said. Today, 100% Pure distributes its products through a variety of channels — specialty retailers, spas, its own boutiques and online.

“The online renaissance started happening around that time too,” he said. “We were really lucky and got on TV. Two years later we also opened our own 100% Pure flagship store in Berkeley, which is still open today. And that was just on a whim because we saw a place for lease, and we wondered what it would be like to open a store. We convinced the landlord to give us a lease, and we went to a sign shop, went to Office Depot, got a cash register, went to Ikea, bought shelving, and opened the next day and worked there. That’s humble beginnings.”

As 100% Pure grows, the challenge will be maintaining the balance between digital and physical channels while using data to drive loyalty, Kostic said. He said he believes that understanding customer behavior — when they are most likely to purchase, what products resonate with them, and how they prefer to engage with the brand — is the key to driving future success.

“Knowing their mindset in a spending mode could be really interesting data,” he said.