Proactiv was developed by Dr Katie Rodan and Dr Kathy Fields in 1995 as the world’s first at-home acne treatment. The celebrity derm duo sold off their rights to found their own brand – Rodan + Fields – in 2002, on-selling it to Estée Lauder before buying it back in 2007.
Most Australians associate the Proactiv brand with Guthy-Renker, the DTC company behind the brand’s infomercial campaigns and appointment of celebrity ambassadors, including Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber. Since its launch, Proactiv has helped more than 20 million consumers worldwide to achieve clearer skin.
Nestle Skin Health took over Proactiv in 2016, where it was shifted to Galderma, its joint venture with L’Oréal founded in 1981. The multinational sold Galderma in 2019 to an investment consortium for US$10.2 billion and today the maker of Benzac is the world’s largest independent dermatology company.
Proactiv ended its DTC operations in Australia in 2019, but it is available through websites such as amazon.com.au and Skincare Australia.
Even though maskne became a major problem during the Covid-19 pandemic, today’s consumers are more concerned with overall skin health rather than potentially dehydrating acne treatments.
Galderma is re-branding Proactiv as Alchemee to take advantage of its expertise in dermo-cosmetics. Although the brand will still tap into its anti-acne origins and remains the top-selling anti-acne regimen in the US, the plan is to expand into other solution-based skincare categories targeting pigmentation, psoriasis, eczema and dermatitis.
The first new product range under the new brand will be Restorative Elements, set to launch in early 2022. “We’re on a mission to become the leading global science-backed, regimen-based skincare company guided by the needs of our customers as well as the latest research, products and trends. Not everyone has access to a dermatologist’s office and that’s where Alchemee can step in”, adds Shannon Pappas, general manager of Alchemee.
Alchemee products will adopt an omnichannel approach across DTC, bricks-and-mortar retail and social to achieve the widest distribution.