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It’s an exciting time for Bubble, known for its elevated approach to teen skin care. It launched at CVS in July, and now it’s releasing its first OTC product, Super Clear Acne Treating Serum with 2% Salicylic Acid ($17). It’s been working on the serum for three years, said founder Shai Eisenman.
“The process to create an OTC product is a much more complicated, elaborate process than creating normal skin-care products,” Eisenman said. “An OTC product is a product that is actually approved and goes through an entire process with the FDA. So it’s an acne treatment product, which means it’s an actual acne drug, [though it can] be sold over the counter. It doesn’t require a prescription, but it’s a full-on drug. It needs to have specific ingredients, and it needs to go through a specific process.”
To promote the product, Eisenman and her team have tapped a number of brand ambassadors — some who the brand’s worked with in the past and some who are new. Madison Pettis (4.4 million followers), the actor who starred alongside Addison Rae in Netflix’s “He’s All That,” has been a Bubble ambassador and will also post about Super Clear. Samantha Logan (1.1 million Instagram followers) of Netflix’s “All American” is also an ambassador.
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Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (1 million Instagram followers) is also a recently named ambassador. Likewise, the newest addition to Bubble’s ambassador roster is not a beauty influencer but a male athlete, Sam Hurley (1 million Instagram followers, 3.6 million TikTok followers), a track and field athlete and Gatorade’s 2021 Player of the Year. Bubble is not alone in tapping male athletes as spokespeople — Starface linked with Kayvon Thibodeux in February, while Hims has featured Alex Rodriguez, who’s also a company investor.
Bubble’s selection of talent was chosen because the brand is gender-neutral. “We don’t see gender as a thing, we always like to say the products are great for people with skin,” Eisenman said. Forty percent of the brand’s DTC business comes from male customers.
“I’ve seen [Bubble] across basically all social media platforms — a couple of my friends have done partnerships and deals with them. And it was always a brand that struck my attention,” Sam Hurley told Glossy via Zoom. “I love the way they market themselves and their products; it was something I knew I would be able to get behind.”
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Athletes as an influencer subset have been amazing partners for a number of reasons, but one is the importance of good skin care in their own lives, as a result of their jobs. “You sweat so much as an athlete … and often you struggle with oily skin, as a result. Our products are amazing for oily skin types, and all skin types, and [they’ve] helped so much with acne,” Hurley said.
As for his own skin care-routine, he said, “I start off with the Fresh Start Gel Cleanser, and I fell in love with the Slam Dunk Hydrating Moisturizer. And sometimes I’ll use the Day Dream [Vitamin C & Niacinamide] Tone and Texture Serum — I’ll use that before I moisturize.” He added that the fact that everything is under $20 added to Bubble’s appeal, especially as he’s a college student.
“The way we see our partnerships with celebrities and influencers really depends on the people we work with. Some of them we want to be a credibility driver, while some [are more] awareness drivers. But we constantly look for people who are very relatable, who our community can relate to and be excited about, and who love the brand,” Eisenman said.
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