Global – French beauty brand L’Occitane En Provence has unveiled a virtual store in celebration of Ramadan. Created in partnership with Emperia, the interactive experience emphasises togetherness, gifting and self-reflection.
The Ramadan Village was designed to evoke a traditional Middle Eastern house and the spirit of Ramadan celebrations. Co-created with artist Bayan Yasien, the experience is thought to evoke the warmth, security and familiarity of holiday traditions. Inside, L’Occitane products are showcased as trusty self-care tools in key moments of Ramadan, when fasting can pose skin challenges like dehydration. The brand also helps customers find their skincare routine via a questionnaire generating product recommendations that can be added to a shopping basket or shared.
‘Rather than focusing solely on the traditional function of e-commerce, the brand keeps […] enriching the online journey through education and individualisation, embodying its heritage of top personal customer support while leveraging new technologies,’ the co-founder and CEO of Emperia, Olga Dogadkina, explained in a statement.
This activation follows the inclusivity boost we started tracking in 2022 in our Halal Beauty Market report, driving beauty brands to consider religious and ethical restrictions in their strategies.
Strategic opportunity
Beauty brands sticking to one-size-fits-all strategies are setting themselves up for failure. To compete with regional favourites, find local partners to develop educative and interactive branded experiences that celebrate and honour culture