Introduction to Project Cloisonné:

In the heart of the metropolis, where the rhythm of the people pulses with creativity and possibility, there exists a brand that embodies the spirit of tradition, well being, and elegance. Project Cloisonné isn't just another trend focused beauty or generic personal care company; it's a testament to the power of authenticity, craftsmanship, and community. Guided by our principles of global connectivity and a pursuit of joy, we invite you to join us on a journey where personal care meets dynamism, where every zone of the globe has a cultural contribution and story to tell.

Market Context:

Traditionally, legacy brands have shaped the beauty and personal care industry, reinforcing mainstream beauty norms for decades in the US market. However, in recent years, a shift in consumer behavior has demanded fresh perspectives and innovation. This change has sparked the rise of independent brands with a new approach to product creation, emphasizing transformation, authenticity, and transparency. Historically, market leaders kept categories such as fragrance, body, and hair care exclusive, gate kept with closed networks, impenetrable supply chain, and secret know how to maintain market dominance. With this practice of over a sustained period of time, a massive market has developed on the backs of the consumer. For context, we have segmented and provided a simple five year forecast of the Global Personal Care and Beauty market to contextualize the opportunity.

Source: Mckinsey The State of Fashion: Beauty 2023

Brand Objective:

Our brand will skillfully create and develop personal care products for women, men with a primary focus on Eau de Parfum, body oil and moisturizer, soap, facial care, and various grooming objects. The full product suite will highlight design, sustainability, local premium ingredients, and historical context, communicated through our Syncretic Personal Care™️ process. This framework, rooted in deep research, uses a dynamic understanding of geographically zoned contribution to fragrance, beauty and overall personal care. The brand is anchored in emotionally resonant storytelling drawn from population migration, human ingenuity, and art. This results in a significant and unique offering designed to fill a market gap left by conventional offerings.

Brand Vision:

Project Cloisonné is a brand that celebrates self expression through personal care. By embracing intimate details of history and influential culture zones of the world, we believe that marrying these foundational elements with art, design, and the shared human journey will create a unique and refreshing take on care and beauty. This brand exists to creatively bridge historical notions and practice of personal care with modern creativity and capability, introducing people to a fusion of concepts that embraces vitality that transcends time itself.

We’ve emerged to energize and be a bright spot in an ecosystem dominated by the status quo where incremental changes correlated to loose trends represent fatigue and lack of creativity. Project Cloisonné embraces a true understanding of hyper localization, telling a compelling story rooted in interesting facts and research with the intent of embracing buried practices and tools that accentuate presence.

Our ethos is unwavering: No matter your personal care pursuit, be it for daily maintenance, urban enthusiasm, or trendsetting, we are committed to ensuring that you're groomed impeccably, smell magnificent, and feel confident while living life.

Positioning Statement:

Drawing inspiration from storied corners of the globe, we design personal care objects featuring coveted natural ingredients and materials that integrate time honored traditions of the historic world with modern sensibilities and technology. We represent a potent distillation of craftsmanship in everything we do. It's in acknowledging our past, and celebrating the journey of ideas that we offer a sensory journey for our customers to build their own rituals and beauty regimens.

Brand Attributes:

At every touch point Project Cloisonné should exude:

• Mnemonic Connection
• Artistic Aspiration
• Creative Splendor
• Sustained Extravagance

Brand Sonics:

Target Audience:

She/he values quality, individuality and authenticity. She/he buys from experiential brands that resonate with her/his lifestyle and ideologies.

The People:

Project Cloisonné will disrupt the online and offline personal care experience by primarily targeting women and men ages 25-55, and secondarily segmenting offerings that address the “young rulers” or kids of the core audience aforementioned. The core target segment earns $50K-$250K or more annually, with various levels of disposable income.

The personal care market is experiencing significant growth, fueled by Gen Y and Z consumers who desire authenticity and meaningful experiences that tie the past to the present. They reject narratives of luxury based on harmful ingredients and insensitive marketing. Instead, this discerning audience seeks quality products that enhance their personal care routines, allowing individual expression through whole body care, and most importantly, promotion of wellness. The consumer has demanded a recalibration of product and ingredient safety as well as sustainability.

Shopping Habits: Our customer enjoys a mix of online and in-store shopping experiences. They seek out specialty boutiques, culturally relevant shops, and department stores that carry curated selections of luxury brands. She might shop at Erewhon or Le Bon Marché with friends while discussing plans for a weekend getaway due to the stress from her demanding new role in the C-suite. He enjoys being the person to share new things with friends and family. It may be over dinner at Carbone, or while on a casual drive down La Brea in a new Porsche Taycan.

Lifestyle: Our target customer leads a dynamic urban lifestyle, balancing work, social engagements, and personal interests. They are often found exploring their city's neighborhoods, attending cultural events, and connecting with like minded individuals in creative spaces. Music and fashion play a role in their daily life, seamlessly transitioning from casual to structured environments. They appreciate versatility and optionality. It’s not always about buying the most expensive object, but the right thing per utility, function and emotional connection.

Who is She?

She’s, an elder millennial overhauling her personal care routine, needs a brand that offers products made from premium ingredients and materials because she has tried numerous overpriced brands that use inferior ingredients and lack captivating engagement as her purchasing power has grown, and has a desire to invest in a long term relationship with an offering that delivers reliable quality, product transparency, results, and exceptional brand interactions that prompt immediate sharing with her friends and family.

Who is He?

He’s, an elder millennial overhauling his personal care routine, needs a brand that offers products made from premium ingredients and materials because he has tried numerous overpriced brands that use inferior ingredients and lack captivating engagement as his purchasing power has grown, and has a desire to invest in a long term relationship with an offering that delivers reliable quality, product transparency, results, and exceptional brand interactions that prompt immediate sharing with his friends and family.

Brand Statement:

25 word statement

Project Cloisonné is a premium personal care brand creating elevated daily care essentials and objects inspired by care rituals, traditions, and captivating stories from influential regions of the world.

50/60 word statement

Project Cloisonné, is a premium personal care brand, creating elevated daily care essentials and objects. Our products are made with thoughtfully sourced and active ingredients to cleanse, hydrate, moisturize, and perfume the body, offering results and lifestyle fulfillment. We are inspired by care rituals, traditions, and captivating stories from influential zones of the world.

Products:

Our GTM offering will consider the following:

Future Products/Categories:

• Candles
• Cosmetics
• Sunscreen
• Wildcard Personal Objects: Fun and unexpected products
• Collaborations w/ brands and people who share orbits
• Nail care
• Feet and hands

Our products are developed in verticals, starting with a fragrance base. Perfume bases are designed to be an aromatic expression of a geography or Zone. We leverage use of our Syncretic Beauty™️ process to develop proprietary accords and essential oil blends to capture the desired sensory experience of a culture or region. These blends represent the structural basis of our perfumes and downstream derivative products. See below for product development framework.

Within respective Zones, there will be 1-3 defining olfactory properties, whether it's an essential oil, naturally derived fragrance, or otherwise, that will drive the overall profile and naming of the products in a vertical. We have defined these indigenous olfactory properties below in Zone Definition. With this approach, we are able to ascertain a localized understanding and origin of our core ingredients, in hopes of creating a human connection and eliciting an emotional response.

For example, Zone 5 has a historical connection with Styrax, focusing on the Turkish Riviera or the Turquoise Coast. We will emphasize the resonant components of the area to tell a story. We will primarily seek to source olfactory ingredients from the Zone directly or through partnership.

Fragrance Foundation

Brand Examples

Brands of Inspiration

Visual Exploration

Below, we explore key areas in a creative format to guide product development, sourcing, and a general understanding of mood.

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 5

Zones 4 + 6

Brand Ingredients:

Product Standards:

Banned Ingredients: We leave the harmful stuff behind and spell it out.

• Perfume or Fragrance: We spell it out
• Parabens: propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl
• Phthalates
•  1,4 Dioxane: By product that creates suds in cleansers
• Formaldehyde
• dmdm hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, quaternium-15, bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol ), 5-bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane and hydroxymethylglycinate.DMDM hydantoin
• Sodium Laureth Sulfate
• Polyethylene
• Polyethylene glycol
• Oxybenzone/benzophenone-3: Sunscreen protectant against UVB+UVA
• Petroleum Based Products: Jelly
• BTH + BTA preservatives
• ethanolamines: Foaming agent
• Watch for: Monoethanolamine (MEA), Diethanolamine (DEA), Triethanolamine (TEA)
• Aluminum
• Triclocarbon (bar soap)
• Triclosan (liquid soap)
• Retinly palmotate or retinol daytime skin products
• Eetinly palmotate or retinol

Innovation & Sustainability

1. Exploration and Innovation: As a new-age personal care brand, we are fearless in exploring uncharted territories. We actively seek out underutilized active ingredients, travelling to the farthest corners of the earth to connect with communities using unique natural ingredients, practices or methods to achieve care goals.

2. Sustainable Packaging: We believe in the power of minimal, memorable, and creative packaging that doesn't compromise on sustainability. We are committed to using recyclable materials, minimizing single-use items, and continually seeking opportunities for reusable packaging. We value materials such as glass and aluminum for their repurposing potential, reflecting our dedication to a sustainable future.

3. Mindful Ingredient Selection: Our approach to sustainability extends to our choice of product ingredients. We are mindful that sustainability can mean different things to different people. While some consumers prefer natural or organic ingredients, others focus on synthetics or avoiding potentially harmful ingredients such as preservatives, emulsifiers, thickeners and color pigments. Our approach is comprehensive, emphasizing sustainable sourcing, which includes avoiding non-sustainable methods and partnering with suppliers who employ best practices in line with our own.