Beauty brand Pacifica and sexual wellness brand Lola have partnered on a unique holiday campaign combining safe sex and sustainable gifting practices.
Starting Dec. 1, the collaboration, called “It’s a Wrap,” encourages people to forego wrapping paper and stick to the “necessary” wrappers in the form of condoms for their holiday fun. It’s a first-of-its-kind for both brands, which have not done co-branded campaigns with other beauty or wellness brands before. From Lola’s perspective, the team wanted to find a way to participate in the holiday conversation, said Amy Fisher, CEO of Lola. For Pacifica, it is an opportunity to remind customers to be mindful of extra waste and to continue to advocate for women’s health and reproductive rights. Holiday promotions might otherwise drown out these messages, said Brook Harvey-Taylor, founder and CEO of Pacifica.
“Collaborations are a great opportunity to introduce our brand to a new community of like-minded consumers and provide value. It’s a way to bring fun and animation to a brand,” said Fisher.
Fisher said Lola and Pacifica connected during an investor conference earlier in 2022. The Lola team had already planned to focus on its sex products, which include lubricants and condoms, during the holiday season. During their meeting, the Pacifica team expressed interest in partnering on a holiday campaign. Given that Lola products are a-typical for the gifting season, the brand instead wanted its holiday approach to remind people of healthy-sex practices during this time of year, such as carrying condoms with you to holiday parties.
“Women’s health-care rights are so important to talk about right now, even during the holidays,” said Harvey-Taylor. “This gives us a moment to continue the conversation in a more playful way and to hammer home that these issues aren’t taboo. We should talk sexual wellness, and we should talk about women’s rights to birth control and their bodies.”
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Definitive statistics around the waste generated during the holidays are uncertain. However, it has been estimated that Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than at any other time of year. Other brands that have had sustainable-minded gifting campaigns in the past include Love Beauty Planet and L’Occitane.
In February, Pacifica received a minority investment from Brentwood Associates, valued at $250 million, according to Bloomberg. Around the same time, Nathalie Kristo, former North American president for Huda Beauty, was brought in as CEO. A brand representative confirmed Kristo is no longer with Pacifica and that Harvey-Taylor stepped back into the CEO role in November. Meanwhile, 7-year-old Lola raised $24 million in Series B funding in 2018 after three other infusions totaling $11.2 million.
On Dec. 1, both brands shared the campaign via email to their undisclosed list of subscribers. Within each brand’s email, customers are provided a promotion code for the other respective brand. And until the end of December, there will be a series of product giveaways on social media, including Pacifica skin-care and a six-month subscription to Lola menstrual products. Pacifica is putting “a small amount” of its holiday budget toward the “It’s a Wrap” collaboration, said Harvey-Taylor. Pacifica and Lola plan to collaborate on another campaign in 2023, but details have not yet been determined.
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Harvey-Taylor said Pacifica will evaluate holiday product sales, as well as audience engagement and earned media value from unpaid gifting to influencers. Fisher said she is interested in consumer sentiment and campaign comments.
“There’s major value in collaborating with other brands. Sharing audiences is huge, and extending our reach beyond where we are today is meaningful and important,” said Harvey-Taylor. “There’s an exciting moment when you cross into another category.”
