Global beauty brand Mary Kay has launched a new app in partnership with Bottle Rocket Studios, giving shoppers an easier way to connect and shop based on the advice of Mary Kay’s independent beauty consultants.
Through the Mary Kay app, shoppers can find the company’s newest beauty products and long-time favorites, create shareable wish lists, get customized product recommendations based on their beauty profiles, and find information on skincare, makeup tips and more.
“We are very excited for the launch of the new Mary Kay app, understanding that it is a convenient and customized way for brand lovers to connect with their independent beauty consultants and shop our innovative products,” said Nathan Moore, region president for North America, in the company announcement.
“Life today is busy, and we delight in knowing the intuitive, easy to use Mary Kay app will make shopping for favorite products even easier,” he continued. “As a company, we are committed to providing our beauty consultants and their customers [with] best-in-class experiences.”
The Mary Kay app will also allow users to create a personalized order of application based on the products they use, either every day or for special occasions. Customers can access special offers from their beauty consultants and opt-in to notifications of new product announcements and promotions. Those who don’t have a Mary Kay consultant can connect with one through the app.
“Delivering cutting-edge technology that empowers our independent beauty consultants to provide personalized, dynamic and engaging shopping experiences is a top priority for my team,” Craig Carter, VP of innovation and yechnology for Mary Kay North America, said in the company announcement.
Related news: Mary Kay Unveils ‘Suite 13’ Digital Beauty Experience
In April, Mary Kay Inc. and its Mary Kay Global Design Studio rolled out a digital beauty experience called Suite 13, which uses virtual reality technology to digitize Mary Kay’s digital pop-up showroom. That space offers a “360-degree, 3D beauty experience” to Mary Kay’s independent beauty consultants and shoppers through digital rooms that educate on the company’s legacy, values and products.
Spanish company Imperia raised over €10 million (about $10.5 million) in a Series A funding round to fuel the international expansion of its supply chain management software.
The company will use the new funding to enhance its software’s predictive capabilities with artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics; grow its international team; and expand to the U.K., Italy and France, Imperia said in a Tuesday (Feb. 18) press release.
The enhanced predictive capabilities will allow clients to “optimize costs and manage risks more effectively,” the release said.
Imperia’s supply chain management (SCM) solution is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering designed for both small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises, according to the company’s website. It encompasses demand, procurement and production planning.
The company’s funding round was co-led by Burda Principal Investments and Samaipata, according to the release.
Burda Principal Investments said in a Tuesday press release that Imperia’s modular SaaS platform enables businesses of all sizes to improve their efficiency and resilience by replacing outdated manual processes with fully digital, AI-powered workflows.
“Imperia’s ability to adapt to the evolving needs of businesses and deliver increasing value at every stage of their supply chain maturity truly sets them apart in the SCM SaaS market,” Burda Principal Investments CEO Christian Teichmann said in the release. “We see tremendous potential in its European expansion and role as a category leader in the SCM SaaS market.”
Samaipata said in a Tuesday post on LinkedIn that this funding round came just one year after Imperia announced its seed round and that the company has “commercial momentum.”
In the Imperia press release, Samaipata Partner Luis Garay said: “Their rapid traction in the local market and strong validation of product-market fit in Europe make this round a key inflection point. We are incredibly proud to continue supporting Imperia in its international expansion and its consolidation as a sector leader.”
After seeing pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, both retail and manufacturing companies are investing in digital technology to improve procurement operations and limit business disruptions caused by future supply chain breakdowns, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Corcentric collaboration, “Digital Payments: Modernizing Procurement Processes.”