Started two years ago by Irish blogger Suzanne Jackson, SOSUbySJ has gone from strength to strength. It’s stocked in a range of major retailers across the globe and is now moving into the Australian market.
SOSU by SJ is a beauty brand driven by the power of Instagram, and moreover, influencers. Suzanne began her career as a blogger in Ireland in 2010. Her fashion/beauty/lifestyle blog – SoSueMe – was the springboard into the creation of her own brand. Her products range from contour palettes to false lashes, but it’s the Dripping Gold Luxury Tanning Mousse that garners the most attention from consumers. Prices start at $9.75 AUD for the eyelashes and go up to $39.23 AUD for the Ultra Dark Tanning Mousse.
Many of the SOSUbySJ products sold out online within minutes of their release, and their Instagram – which features the likes of James Charles – has amassed a staggering 245k followers. Recently, SOSU by SJ collaborated with 2018 Love Island winner Dani Dyer to create a range of false lashes. The success of the favourite English reality TV show and the Girl Code Collection is comparable in both their success and move down under.
esprit Magazine spoke with Suzanne Jackson to find out more about her expanding business.
Why did you choose to investigate launching SOSU in brick-and-mortar retail in Australia?
Suzanne: My followers asked me to! There are lots of Irish living in Australia and initially it was demand from them. Throughout the last two years we have also worked with some amazing Australian influencers and from that, we started to get more and more people asking for us to bring SOSU by Suzanne Jackson to Oz.
Can you name the retailer you are working with?
S: Not just yet! We have been working really hard on getting this across the line. Watch this space!
What’s your retail positioning?
S: We actually have a really broad range of customers, but generally speaking she is 16-34, is very active on social media and is digitally-led. Instagram is such an important tool for us at SOSUbySJ and allows us to communicate with our followers & customers instantaneously.
What is SOSU’s point of difference that adds to the Australian beauty offering here already?
S: SOSUbySJ is all about offering a luxury cosmetic or self-tan product at an affordable price. We take pride in listening to our customers and followers; I answer hundreds of DM’s every day and if I see a pattern in what my followers are asking for then I brief that to my team and we start work on it immediately. We are very reactive and fast-moving.
What does SOSU do differently in retail (instore activation, events, customer interactions) that will excite the Australian consumer?
S: We love interacting with our customer and we have lots of masterclasses, in-store demo’s and much more planned! It is so important to engage with your customer and educate on your products.
https://www.instagram.com/p/By2oWVxoW3i/
Are you planning high-profile collaborations with any local influencers…if so who? Or if you can’t say who… which type of influencer are you seeking to work with?
S: Absolutely! We are always planning our next collaborations. We love to work with talented MUA’s. We did an incredible 5-piece collection with KeilidhMUA in Ireland that was unbelievably successful. We can’t wait to bring something special to the Aussie customer.
Can we look forward to seeing Susanne on Aussie shores any time soon?
S: Yes! I have always wanted to visit Australia and 2019 is going to be the year! I can’t wait to meet everyone and see them using my products, literally on the other side of the world!
Feature image: @sosu_bysuzannejackson