The Road to Dioné Domination Continues for Alisha Anderson
A cosmetics company out of New Brunswick has been making some big moves and getting attention from major names in the beauty and fashion world.
Dioné Cosmetics is a professional cruelty-free makeup line created by Saint John’s Alisha Anderson. The makeup is purchased through her direct sales network of “Gods and Goddesses” across Canada as well as at a small retail location in Rothesay and online.
But over the last year, Anderson has been working continuously to make Dioné more than just another direct sales makeup company.
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After working with Atlantic Canadian sales accelerator Momentum Canada over the last 7 months, Dioné is now the official supplier for a cosmetology school, Kreative Cosmetology in Woodstock, N.B.
“I was super pumped about that because Dioné is first and foremost professional quality. So I feel that adds credibility to me saying that,” says Anderson.
Anderson has since been reaching out to cosmetology schools outside the province with good reception and hopes to be in other schools within the next six months. For her, getting into a cosmetology school was a significant business step.
“It’s huge. It’s probably one of the biggest things that has happened to me so far this year because from when I was in makeup school, every student has to do a portfolio. The makeup that you have in your kit is usually what you use for your portfolio,” she says.
“Not only are the students using it on themselves, but they’re using it on their clientele. It’s my experience that once everyday people start using something, they enjoy it and want to purchase it. I have exposure that I would never have had if I had not been in the school.”
Dioné has taken a unique approach when it comes to supplying schools. Since Dioné is a direct sales business, each student who receives a kit through their school is able to sell the product themselves.
“Since I’m a social selling direct sales business, every student that gets my kit at the school is now going to be an automatic Goddess or God,” says Anderson. “So they’re going to be able to sell the product, earn commission and make money while they are going to school.”
Yet to get noticed and build a reputation as a professional quality makeup brand, cosmetics companies need to get endorsements and influencers.
Influencers are typically people who are considered experts in their field with strong personal brands and social following. You can find beauty industry influencers on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. In January, Dioné got the attention of one of Anderson’s idols, Kristen Leanne, founder of hair colour company Arctic Fox.
“I sent her some things and she actually fell in love with the product and put me in her top 10 foundations to try in 2017,” says Anderson. “I beat out some of the major cosmetic brands. She had me in with some very high-end heavy-hitting foundations.”
“Because she’s included me in a video, I can use that as a way to reach out to other influencers, which I have.”
Back in the day, cosmetics companies used to seek out endorsements from Hollywood celebrities, but the arrival of social media has changed that.
“Nowadays, YouTube endorsements and influencers of social media, they are the celebrities of the brand. If you can get an endorsement from a Youtuber or an Instagram influencer, that’s just as good as having somebody like Kim Kardashian try their products,” says Anderson.
“A lot of the cosmetics brands out there are using influencers instead of celebrity endorsements, because not only are they a little bit more affordable, but because they’re beauty specific, they have access to their exact demographic. You get a lot of eyes on you.”
Dioné has also gotten some attention in print. Over the last year, the company has been advertised in FubUplus Magazine and is currently partnering the publication and Penningtons on a North America-wide contest.
“I started advertising in the magazine and without me knowing it, last year they actually put my product in their ‘best beauty buys’. I didn’t know they were going to do that,” says Anderson. “Then they reached out to me as said ‘We want you to be a sponsor of a contest, would that be something you’d be willing to do?’”
The winners of the contest will receive a 2018 cover shoot with Penningtons supplying the clothes and Dioné supplying the makeup.
“Not only does Dioné get to receive this great exposure with Penningtons and FabUplus, my products are going to be on the front cover of a magazine for the entire year of 2018,” says Anderson
“FabUplus could have picked anybody. They could have gone to Mac and said “would you want to sponsor this contest?’ and Mac would have done it. What do they care right? It’s nothing for them … they chose to ask me and I couldn’t be any more honoured.”
The direct sales side of Dioné has also grown significantly. The company now has 43 “Goddesses and Gods,” with representation in every province except Newfoundland and Ontario. That number is up from 34 in January 2016.
“As of right now, we’re surpassing what we did last year by double, so that’s fantastic for me. Sales are always important for the books, but it also means I’m having the opportunity of helping these people put additional income in their households.”
Though the last year has brought significant milestones, Anderson says she still has much more to do to get Dioné to where she wants it to be. This year she would like to get Dioné representatives in Ontario.
“I feel if I could infiltrate Ontario, I can really grow the brand at a faster pace,” she says.
Anderson also plans to drop some new products.
“I’m working on some really cool concepts for the end of the year and the beginning of 2018,” she says. “I really want to create a product that is groundbreaking but that is just so simple that it’s like ‘why didn’t I think of that?’
Ultimately, Anderson wants Dioné to help elevate the direct sales industry by offering a professional product that helps give sellers financial freedom.
“Direct sales companies have left a bit of a bad taste in some people’s mouths because some are just so aggressive. I really want to elevate that industry,” says Anderson.
“I want to be the MAC of direct sales. I want the brand to be as highly sought after for professionals as it is for everyday people, but I want it to be sold by people, and not so much by retail.”