Olivela launches beauty, boosting entry-level consumers’ charitable spending power

Charity-tied retailer Olivela is expanding its partners to include beauty and fragrance brands as a way to increase the radius of its philanthropic giving.

Beauty and fragrance items are considered entry-level goods due to a lower price point, but for Olivela, which gives a portion of the ticket price from luxury goods to charitable causes, this may encourage shoppers to make philanthropic purchases on its site more often. Also, because consumers are often loyal to a particular personal care product, the addition of beauty increases the chances of loyalty to Olivela.

Giving back is beautiful
Launched in 2017, Olivela combines philanthropy and shopping. On its Web site, Olivela sells apparel, accessories and jewelry from various luxury brands such as Valentino, Jimmy Choo, Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Jacobs.

When a purchase is made, a portion of the proceeds from the sale benefits Olivela’s charitable partners who raise funds and awareness for children’s causes. The retail concept provides affluent shoppers with transparency measures, allowing them to view which charitable cause the purchase benefited and how those funds will be used in an easy-to-read impact metric (see story).

Olivela’s new beauty section was launched Feb. 2 and includes a curated selection of cosmetics, fragrance and nail polishes from luxury brands.

If a consumer purchases a nail polish by Christian Louboutin Beauté, for instance, she will receive an impact metric outlining which charity and how the donation will be spent.

Proceeds could provide days of children’s essentials provided by the GOOD+ Foundation, days of schooling for girls who do not have access to education through the Malala Fund, days of music access with VH1 Save the Music Foundation or days of health essentials for girls in need via Too Young To Wed.

On Olivela "beauty is blooming." Image credit: Olivela

Brand partners at launch include Acqua di Parma, Christian Louboutin Beauté, Clive Christian Perfume, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Molton Brown, Nest Fragrances, Penhaligon’s and Sisley-Paris, among others. Additional brands will be added to Olivela in due course.

“Launching beauty is a natural evolution of our business to evolve the consumer experience to be all-encompassing, distinguishing Olivela as a true lifestyle brand pioneering philanthropic retail across categories,” said Stacey Boyd, CEO and founder of Olivela, in a statement.

“My vision for Olivela is to be a one-stop discovery and shopping destination, empowering consumers to use their purchasing power to make a significant difference and this expansion brings us even closer to that end,” she said.