The company announced it had successfully raised US$20 million in funding in March last year, a notable achievement given the rough climate for founders seeking capital at the time.
“We are the most global Singaporean skin care brand today. I’m so proud to say that because back in 2016 people only knew Singapore for our airline, our airport, the cocktail, and the casino shaped like a surfboard. I’m very proud to say that I think we’re the only Singaporean beauty brand that has raised such a large institutional round,” said founder and chief executive Nicolas Travis.
Travis told us that the company is now at a crucial step of its global acceleration.
The brand can already be found in 36 countries globally with prominent retailers such as Sephora, Mecca, Space NK, Cult Beauty, and Douglas-owned Niche Beauty.
“We’re at a stage right now where we don’t need to go wide, we need to go really, really deep. We decided we needed to pick one country to do that, so we picked the US… If you can make it as a beauty brand in the US, you can make it anywhere in the world,” said Travis.
The US market is currently the brand’s largest market and the one with the most potential.
According to Travis, the firm is currently in talks with several big-name retailers in the US, including Nordstrom, Violet Grey, Neiman Marcus, and Bluemercury.
“We’re taking a very intentional approach with retailers like these. Honestly, we’re going to take our time.”
Growing strong
In 2024, Allies of Skin grew a whopping 76% despite only establishing a dedicated team in the US late last year.
Travis attributed the brand’s success in the US to its hero product, Multi Peptides & Growth Factor Advanced Lifting Serum.
“I think a beauty brand needs innovation that really excites you and you need to have hero SKUs. Chanel has No.5, Lancôme has Génifique – that’s what brands are built on. We launched our growth factor serum late 2023 and our first batch sold out in two weeks. It went on to sell out five times and our latest wait list is 11,000.”
He told us that the tremendous success of the serum came as a surprise because of its relatively high price tag (US$188).
Nonetheless, the brand’s hero serum perfectly aligned with the prevailing trends of the moment, catering to the growing demand for high-performance ingredients, such as peptides and epidermal growth factors.
“It wasn’t intentional. I just thought it was something I had to do, and it so happened that we were right at the time. I was always fascinated by repairing the skin and getting the skin to heal as fast as possible. Allies Of Skin has always focused on skin regeneration because of my experiences,” said Travis.
Since launching Allies Of Skin, Travis has been candid about enduring a horrific accident at the age of 19, which necessitated reconstructive facial surgery. Unfortunately, the botched procedures left him facing necrosis and severe infections.
This challenging ordeal shifted his focus to prioritising the healing and strengthening of his skin, which was what Allies Of Skin came to be based on.
The longevity movement
With longevity now emerging as the buzzword, the brand is well-positioned to capitalise on this trend with products like its Advanced Lifting Serum.
“I think you hear the word longevity thrown around a lot right now, and it can mean different things for different people. What we mean by longevity is creating products that will increase the baseline of your skin – like a personal trainer,” said Travis.
He revealed that the brand recently conducted an exciting clinical trial that showed how its Advanced Lifting Serum can tackle “Ozempic face”
The term is used to describe sagging and ageing skin some people experience after significant weight loss associated with using Ozempic, a prescription drug originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes but widely used for rapid weight loss.
In addition to the Advanced Lifting Serum, the brand has other products it aims to push out more, such as its Copper Tripeptide & Ectoin Advanced Repair Serum.
“I started working on this formulation five years ago. Again, this has become a big trendy thing because it can help to thicken perimenopausal, menopausal skin,” said Travis.
This year, fans of the brand can expect it to extend its sun care range, which launched last year.
“Expect more fun, innovative formulations. We want to grow our SPF and this year we have a really unique SPF I’m so excited about. We’re also going to launch products that will help skin reflect light, which is my new obsession,” said Travis.
Moving forward, the brand will continue its focus on advanced skin care ingredients, such as exosomes, Travis told us.
“We’re working with a pharmaceutical drug company to develop exosomes. That’s all I can say, but I’m very excited. We expect the first product from this project to launch early 2026.”
