La Roche-Posay Set Sights High Before Turning 50

PARIS — As it readies to celebrate its 50th birthday next year, the world’s largest dermatological skin care brand La Roche-Posay is at a tipping point.

The brand now has its sight set on top global beauty rankings — not only those in the dermo-cosmetics segment.

“La Roche-Posay has everything to become a podium brand on skin care across all channels,” said Alexandra Reni-Catherine, global brand general manager of La Roche-Posay. “It’s really to bring it up to the next level.”

Industry sources estimate the brand ranked fourth in skin care globally overall by year-end 2023. 

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“When we look at the past, we moved from a start-up to a scale-up,” said Reni-Catherine, who has held her position since September 2023. La Roche-Posay evolved from a pharmacy brand in France to an internationally known name. 

It took La Roche-Posay 30 years to break the 1 billion-euro sales mark and three more to reach 2 billion euros. In 2023, the brand generated 2.5 billion euros, according to industry sources. The brand’s top markets are the U.S., France and China, and Europe is its largest growth contributor.

In the U.S., which became La Roche-Posay’s leading country two years ago, it is sold through retailers such as Amazon, Target and Ulta. In the market, La Roche-Posay ranks third in dermo-cosmetics — after Neutrogena and CeraVe. One-third of its U.S. consumers are male, and a bit more than half are under the age of 44.

To drive growth, La Roche-Posay began carrying out local clinical studies and engaging with local KOLs in the U.S. “That’s where we closed the gap,” said Reni-Catherine, adding the same was true for China, where the brand is sold primarily online through Tmall and in department stores.

Innovation has been another important growth contributor. This year the U.S. was the first market to introduce MelaB3, focused on hyperpigmentation. Subsequently, the product rolled out globally, while China keeps the exclusive on RegenMedic, for skin repair. Those are now La Roche-Posay’s highest-priced products, at about 48 euros and 67 euros, respectively, and have contributed to the brand’s revamping its retail expression.

As La Roche-Posay scales up, retail becomes ever-more important, as does raising visibility. This year saw a pivot with its advocacy strategy. Before, communication was created with medical influencers, but in 2024 La Roche-Posay signed on two well-known ambassadors: American actress and singer Keke Palmer and tennis professional Jannik Sinner. They have self-disclosed skin pathologies. 

Online La Roche-Posay is a #DermTok star, having muscled up its visibility through derm-led content, which offers education at scale in entertaining ways and helping make the brand a Gen Z heavyweight.

The brand is consistently among the top 10 in CreatorIQ’s leaderboard of skin care brands in the U.S. by earned media value, and often in the top five. Year-to-date, La Roche-Posay has generated $147.9 million EMV and 2.8 billion impressions from about 43,520 creator posts in the U.S. It ranks sixth by total 2024 EMV, and is the highest-placed derm brand in Creator IQ’s ranking.

In another activation this year, La Roche-Posay reached 1 million beneficiaries from its Fight with Care program, which advocates the importance of supportive care for people with cancer. The brand also became the largest sponsor for the Union for International Cancer Control.

La Roche-Posay trades in a category where the injectables/aesthetics treatment segment and the topical skin care space converge. That aligns with consumers’ quest for longevity through more advanced skin care treatments.

The segment has recently been softening, after longstanding rapid gains, with a slowdown strongly experienced in the U.S. during third-quarter 2024. In the period, the dermo-cosmetics activity at parent company L’Oréal registered 0.8 percent like-for-like growth against financial analysts’ consensus of 11.7 percent.

La Roche-Posay remains confident nevertheless.

“We’re still having a very good performance on the U.S. market,” Reni-Catherine said. “The potential for La Roche-Posay in the U.S. is still very big, because our awareness [there] still remains limited.”

She views the global dermo-cosmetics slowdown as a normalization of the segment and remains bullish for the future. That’s thanks to a host of upcoming changes, including an ever-aging population and climate change, which can cause an increase of existing pathologies, such as acne and eczema, and a rise of new ones. 

Emerging markets — especially the “sun belt,” spanning Latin America to Southeast Asia, through Iberia — represent bright spots and more growth opportunities. 

Understanding cultural distinctions is essential. “The approach to acne is very different in China, in Southeast Asia and in Brazil,” Reni-Catherine said.

Until recently there was a tendency to believe acne was mostly a teenage condition. That’s true in Europe, where 80 percent of adolescents suffer from it, but 40 percent of adults have the condition worldwide. The percentage is even higher in emerging markets and linked to scarring. “That opens new categories for us,” Reni-Catherine said.

Diversity and inclusivity remain crucial brand strategy assets. La Roche-Posay’s clinical studies are conducted on all skin phototypes — from one to six. “But we are still really looking into better fitting the needs of universal skin of color,” she said. “That’s a key topic for us for future growth.”

Another facet of the strategy is to de-seasonalize sun protection. La Roche-Posay is concentrated on skin today, but its scope could expand into other categories, such as hair care — a natural extension of skin care.

Reni-Catherine looks forward as she looks back. “What’s important is to celebrate the future,” the executive said. “It is really about how to position La Roche-Posay as a future-proof brand for the next 50 years. One big topic will be mental health.”

It’s a subject on the rise, especially among youths.

“The way we answer that is through science first,” Reni-Catherine said. “We have new actives that prove their efficacy on turning down, for instance, the itch signals that are controled by your brain.

“Neuroscience is going to be a huge scientific territory, and that’s something we’re looking into for Lipikar,” she added. “Part of the answer is to approach products embedded with services. It is going to happen soon.”

La Roche-Posay will launch a new app, called Spotscan + Coach, developed with derms. It’s billed to be the first acne-prone-skin diagnosis tool, and will launch first in the U.K. in January, where it is currently being piloted. The free coaching program is AI-powered and lasts 21 days. It involves a full skin scan and content from the likes of derms and nutritionists. The idea is to make sure people cleanse their skin daily — something a lot of young people don’t do.

“Skin care takes a little bit of time, and it’s about discipline,” Reni-Catherine said. “We position La Roche-Posay as a daily partner to increase the level of observance.” 

That leads to better product performance.

“That’s a new approach, also, to mental health,” she said.

In March at an event celebrating its anniversary, La Roche-Posay will present an epidemiological study entitled “Scars of Life,” analyzing the impact skin issues have on people’s quality of life over time.

La Roche-Posay is part of L’Oréal’s Dermatological Beauty Division, which also includes Skinbetter Science, SkinCeuticals and Vichy, with anti-aging focuses. CeraVe is positioned more around the democratization of dermatological beauty.

La Roche-Posay is the branch’s first brand to launch new technologies. Its ecosystem is co-crafted with derms, physicians and health care practitioners, while products are tested on a wide swath of people — from newborns to cancer patients. 

“You’re always asking the question: ‘How can I serve you better?’ ‘How can I help?’ ‘What do we need together to find a solution?’” Reni-Catherine said.