How Katey Mandy’s Raaie Is Expanding Its Global Presence With A New Sephora Partnership

Beauty entrepreneur Katey Mandy continues to push the boundaries of botanicals with New Zealand skincare brand, Raaie.

For most brand founders, you’d think landing a multi-country deal with global beauty retailer Sephora would be reason enough to take a moment to celebrate.

Champagne essential.

Others might like to imbibe with a quintessentially British cup of tea, as is customary for Katey Mandy, who recently moved back to London with husband Freddy and children Phoenix and Obie after seven years spent in Aotearoa forming the foundation for what’s since become her skincare empire in Raaie.

Not one to rest on her laurels, however, the beauty entrepreneur says now’s the time to hustle.

“It’s a big step up. Sephora offers a global opportunity for us – they’ve got almost 3000 stores worldwide.”

She’s surprisingly chipper for someone who’s calling via WhatsApp at 7am in London and, as we spoke, I wondered how many coffees deep she was for someone so perky first thing in the morning.

“This sun is rising, I’m on the third floor, and there’s a tube going by. It’s a very London scene,” she says.

While Raaie’s official launch into Sephora is pegged for May 13, expect to see all five products in all 50 stores throughout New Zealand and Australia by the end of the month.

The brand’s sixth product, a multi-functional offering with a focus on hydration, is pegged for launch in September, to join the line-up in-store and online.

Katey adds the Sephora team has been “amazing right from the get-go” with a full marketing roll-out and prime real estate (aka shelf space) with four shelves and an end-of-aisle display to maximise foot traffic.

“It’s an oasis of calm in a nightclub,” she says of Raaie’s signature sculptural beige vessels in contrast to the punchy brights and flashing lights often seen in Sephora stores. “We want to be a calming antithesis to everything else going on in-store.”

Major beauty retailers receive pitches from brands daily but, in Raaie’s case, Sephora made the first move. Conversations began more than a year ago and, before long, Katey and her team were flying to Sydney to visit Sephora’s HQ.

“They did this big presentation to us, and we pitched right back. It was hugs all round,” she says. “I think they were looking to build brand awareness in the New Zealand market, and they were looking for a local brand to help them do that. It was just lucky that they came across us.”

What attracted Sephora to Raaie in the first place? Katey credits the combination of antioxidant-rich, New Zealand active botanical ingredients with Raaie’s AM/PM methodology, or how certain ingredients can help support what the skin is doing naturally over a 24-hour solar day.

“In the morning, your skin is in protection mode so needs antioxidants, vitamin C and SPF, while in the evening it’s in repair mode, which calls for vitamin As, ceramides, etc,” she says.

“Korean, Australian and Japanese skincare have all had a moment. But I feel like New Zealand has a suite of brands now getting attention – like Emma Lewisham and Pure Mama that are doing so well and getting so much attention.

“This is just another example of people being really interested in ‘Brand New Zealand’, New Zealand botanicals and New Zealand-made products.”

Raaie’s existing retail channels will continue in parallel with Sephora, as the non-exclusive deal in New Zealand means the likes of The Facialist, Smith & Caughey’s and Ballantynes will continue to sell Raaie direct-to-consumer.

“The reality often is that, when you scale up with these big partners, they require exclusivity, so you end up having to break up with all the retailers that took a chance on you in the first place,” Katey says.

An exclusivity clause is in place for Australia, however, excluding professional channels like day spas and skin clinics.

The Sephora deal isn’t the first time Raaie has been available on Aussie soil, and Katey says the brand has experienced 200% growth over the past few months.

Ever the realist, she says the size, scale and competitiveness of the Australian market mean there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“I don’t feel like this is the fine line where we’re holding the trophy. We’re only at the beginning, we’re on the starting block.”

Sephora offers a gateway to the rest of the world like only a multi-national beauty conglomerate can, with almost 3000 stores worldwide.

It certainly worked for Australian sunscreen label Ultra Violette, which launched in Sephora APAC and went global through the Sephora network.

“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you must be so excited and patting yourself on the back,’ Katey says. “When in reality now’s when the work really begins – we need to make sure the product moves off-shelf because it’s on us too to make sure that it’s a success.

“It is exciting, but our game faces are on.”

Her future focus has served her well as a business owner and brand founder. She says she’s future-proofing Raaie by building it as the brand she envisions it to be in five years.

“We’re always trying to build for the next step before we get there. Which is presumptuous, but you’ve got to – otherwise you get caught out,” she says, making the analogy of dressing for the weather you want.

“We’re building the company for the growth we’re hoping to get. The long-term vision is to be a long-term brand. A lot of beauty brands come and go, but we want to build a brand that is lasting and will stay relevant.”

But commanding a business from two different sides of the pond calls for someone who is both hyper-organised and understands the constraints posed by conflicting time zones.

Flexible working hours are a must, and Katey says her team are encouraged to head to appointments and Pilates classes in the middle of the day, just as she makes herself available for the breakfast rush and bedtimes with her children.

“I have a foot in both camps. I’m back and forth a lot, because production will always be in New Zealand, and my team is in New Zealand.”

She was previously based in London for 11 years, where she met her now husband and carved out a successful career in cosmetics. The recent move made sense, what with imminent expansion plans into the UK and Europe, along with an unoccupied London home and her husband’s ageing parents.

Kiwis in London have a knack for finding each other, and Katey says it was by pure coincidence that she’s found herself surrounded by a handful of New Zealand’s most talented exports.

“Crazily, the girls from Paris Georgia and the girls from The Curve are in my building. I keep hearing all these Kiwi accents and it’s so funny.”

Sephora APAC is just the beginning, and Katey adds that the benefit of her being London-based is to help drive Raaie’s expansion into the UK. The five-strong range is already available at luxury department stores including Liberty in London and Printemps in Paris.

The key to keeping calm amid rapid growth? Stay focused.

“We’ve had inquiries from America, Asia and the Middle East, but we just have to focus on the opportunities right in front of us. We’ve always tried to have fewer direct retail relationships to allow us to really lean in and support that relationship, rather than be spread too thin,” she says.

“It’s been a steep learning curve in many ways, but it’s been amazing.”

Katey’s quick to acknowledge the many unsung heroes who have played a role in Raaie’s success to date, including her copywriter and film director husband, Freddy.

“Not by choice, but he’s been a huge part of the brand. Especially in those early days, when it was just me, I needed to talk things out with someone. But also creatively, in terms of copywriting and storytelling, it’s absolutely him.”

Stacey Fraser, a Viva Beauty Awards judge, cosmetic chemist and Design Practice Fellow at the University of Canterbury, is another – someone Katey says was extremely helpful in the early days of juggling laboratory visits with compliance and packaging consultations.

There are almost too many to name, and she adds that everyone who touches the brand imprints Raaie’s heart and soul – from the London-based design studio that designed Raaie’s original logo, through to an article in Viva, published almost exactly three years ago.

While steady growth and cross-market domination remain goals while in London, Katey says the eventual dream is to return home to Aotearoa and reconnect with the natural botanicals that put Raaie on the map in the first place.

She paints a picture of a custom-built laboratory at her dad’s farm in Northland, where she could continue to discover “new and exciting ways” to use biotech to make botanical ingredients even better than nature intended.

“I genuinely feel so lucky to be a New Zealand brand that uses science to amplify how bioavailable these botanical ingredients are.

“I’m in my happy place when I’m researching ingredients or looking at clinical trials, so coming back to the source would be really amazing. It would be my beautiful, full circle moment.”

CREDITS:

Clothing Paris Georgia | Accessories Jessica McCormack | Photographer Genevieve Lutkin | Makeup Kate Tighe | Shot in London Battersea

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