Refreshed vision for Australian cult favourite brand

Since its launch 25 years ago, Alpha-H has built a fiercely loyal following, from consumers to beauty editors alike.

The brand that put glycolic acids on the map (and has been lorded for its award-winning Liquid Gold Glycolic Acid Treatment) is now celebrating this huge anniversary milestone with a complete refined range makeover and refreshed vision with new feel. 

This includes a new interpretation of the word “alpha” along with new strategy, tagline, website, photography, digital and social advertising and logo update.

As well as the refresh, Alpha-H was seeking to expand its international footprint, and it was clear to the company that it needed go bigger and bolder to engage a new generation of women in this highly competitive category.

“Earlier this year we joined forces with FiftyFive-5, an Australian-based Market Research and Strategic Insights firm, to conduct a 3-month international research study designed to define a customer led growth path,” said Tina Randello, who joined Alpha-H as chief commercial officer in January 2020. 

The ambitious study explored consumer understanding of and engagement with chemical exfoliation, cosmesceuticals and the burgeoning acid category, across markets in Australia, U.K., China and the U.S.

“We learned a great deal about the habits, routines, attitudes and behaviors of skincare users across multiple generations and cultures. The data revealed that future growth in the chemical exfoliation market is significant with opportunity to grow awareness with new skincare users and grow frequency of use with existing users,” said Randello.

The research also uncovered that it wasn’t only the high-performance of Alpha-H formulas that appealed to customers, but also the brand name itself. 

A name derived from its key ingredient, alpha-hydroxy acids, triggered a deeper, more powerful connection. Women across generations identified themselves as alphas – resilient, confident, ambitious women striving to be their best selves.

With that insight as the impetus, Alpha-H partnered with Insurgents, a U.S. based, boutique branding and innovation agency to reimagine the brand into the future with an updated logo, brand mark and new elevated and refined communication across digital and social.

“Most clinical skincare brands rely on cold facts and high science. Rather than purely calling out the ingredients, features, benefits and test scores as is customary in the category, we chose to emphasise and humanize the leadership and uniqueness of the word, alpha."

"We rebuilt the entire brand around Alphas as the highest level of performance and the symbolism of the letter A. And we will celebrate the independence, intelligence, attitude and desires of Alpha-Females throughout our messaging,” said Randello.

The brand is still shaping its internal platform and formulating its ambitious CSR strategy. As part of that initiative, Randello is engaging the entire team – 75 per cent of whom are women - from operations to warehouse, marketing to finance - to define its Alpha Female Values and the programs they can create to support women across the business – and around the world.

Alpha-H is currently sold globally in prestigious clinics, Sephora, department stores Selfridges, Marks & Spencer, Myer, and online at Adore Beauty and Cult Beauty.