Cetaphil is getting a makeover.
The Dermatology Digest (TDD) sat down with Tara Loftis, the Global President of Skincare and Global Head of Cetaphil at Galderma, to get the scoop on what’s to come, the global roll-out plan, and the impetus behind the re-brand.
TDD: What can consumers and dermatologists expect to see?
Tara Loftis (TL): “It’s gonna look very different. We’re a 77-year-old brand. We’re incredibly proud of our heritage. We’re grounded in science. We worked with a very talented creative agency, and we worked very closely with all our regions around the world to align on what we wanted our brand expression to look like. The new look and feel is a bold visual transition for the brand. It features the brand’s iconic product silhouette overlaid over a range of people’s authentic expressions and portraits. The packaging will look the same, but if you look a little closer, you will see that some of the colors have evolved slightly to be a little more bold and a eye-catching. We’re proud of our logo. We opted to blow up our products via line drawings, so the logo is bigger than ever.”
TDD: What metrics and insights drove the rebrand?
TL: “When I looked at data and spoke to consumers and dermatologists, I found that while we have an incredibly high level of awareness, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, in particular, hadn’t yet built an affinity with Cetaphil. When we looked at data from the from the Galderma Global Sensitive Skincare Faculty (GSSF), we determined that Generation Z is 2.5 times more likely than any other generations to have sensitive skin. Yet we hadn’t revised our brand to ensure it was appealing to this generation or Generation Alpha, which I which I like to call “GenZ Alpha”. (Generation Zers were born from 1995 to 2009 Generation Alpha members were born from 2010 to 2024.) The science shows that they need sensitive skin care more than anyone else. The other insight from GSSF is that 70% of the population struggles with sensitive skin, and the other 30% struggle with sensitized skin due to environmental stressors. So, 100% of the population has a critical need for sensitive skin care.
Further, people with sensitive skin reported altered behaviors and habits that affected the quality of their life, such as sleep disorders, fatigue, and stress/anxiety – a particular concern for Gen Z.”
TDD: What do you hope to accomplish with the re-brand?
TL: “It’s intended to elevate everyone’s daily skincare routine into a genuine moment of self-care. What you’ll see in the in the inaugural campaign are intimate portraits and product-focused graphics with fun, energetic editing, with a diverse cast of real people, including one of my favorite DJs and influencers Griffin Maxwell Brooks, and one of my most favorite double board-certified dermatologist Daniel Belkin, MD. The campaign follows our shift to an advocacy-first marketing strategy, which is built on the fact that Cetaphil’s momentum is driven by dermatologists.
What we were hearing from dermatology partners repeatedly is that they’re seeing an influx of consumers who are taking advice on TikTok from ill-informed sources and they’re ending up with overstimulation of the skin due to too many actives and too many physical exfoliants. Dermatologists are eager to partner with the influencer community and not to be at odds with it. We’ve really embraced this new era of being advocacy first where we’re not just advocacy first with the dermatology community, but we’re also advocacy first with the influencer community.”
TDD: Tell us about the roll-out.
TL: The roll out has already started in-store in the US and then it will follow around the world over the next six to 12 months. We debuted the rebrand at our Skin Labs event in Malibu, CA in early October. We had over 140 influencers and dermatologists there who were the first to see our new brand. Phase two and three of this will be localizing this rebrand in different regions around the world. We’re working with our China team to create a version of the rebrand that will most effectively connect to the Chinese population.”
TDD: What’s next for Cetaphil?
TL: “We’re preparing a dermatology-focused campaign for next year that extends the concept of the rebrand campaign for everyone with sensitive skin. “Products for sensitive skin may have been interpreted as being at odds with efficacy and this has been debunked effectively now, so we are able to develop incredible products that provide the same results without compromising your skin barrier.
There will be two really significant launches in the US including a new body care product. The second drop will be a new foray into high-potency serums for sensitive skin.”
