Department stores and specialty beauty retailers such as Sephora and Mecca have had a lock on providing expanded ranges of foundation shades of 40 or more.
Supermarkets, the second largest retailers of beauty products in Australia behind pharmacies, have traditionally only offered select shade ranges because of space considerations.
In a major step towards a more inclusive and representative approach to cosmetic retailing in grocery, all 40 shades of Maybelline New York’s Fit Me Matte & Poreless foundation are now available online from Woolworths and Coles and in select stores nationwide.
Suitable for oilier skins, Fit Me Matte & Poreless foundation has been available in Australia since 2018. Georgie Inch, Woolworths Beauty Category Manager, says that Woolworths is now stocking the full range of Maybelline New York’s Fit Me Matte & Poreless shades on its online store as part of a trial available in 500 suburbs in Greater Sydney and Greater Melbourne.
“We serve a diverse mix of customers and we’ve launched an online trial offering the full range of Fit Me Matte & Poreless foundations to understand how we can better meet the needs of more of our customers. We’ve already seen a positive response to the extended online range and will continue to look at opportunities to offer more inclusive ranges to the wider community.”
Coles is also offering the full 40 shades of Fit Me Matte & Poreless both online and in select stores nationwide, says Jonathan Torr, Coles General Manager of Non-Food, Health and Home.
“We have tripled the current foundation range available to Coles’ customers and have specifically chosen 10 stores that service many postcodes and diverse customer bases, who can provide us with valuable feedback. We are also conducting a thorough range review of our cosmetics category and looking for opportunities to work with suppliers to offer a more diverse and inclusive range of products in-store and online. The process will be ongoing for several months, and we look forward to launching a refreshed product offering in early 2022.”
Alexandra Shadbolt, Marketing Director for Maybelline New York, says that a wider range of foundation shades was previously limited to expensive foundation offerings and we are excited to be able to offer affordable and accessible solutions.
“We are also looking forward to doubling our Fit Me Dewy & Smooth foundation range in Australia from 12 to 24 shades in early 2022, which we are hoping will also be available on the shelves at both Coles and Woolworths,” she adds.