Dr. Barbara Sturm is setting up house again in downtown New York — at least for a weekend.
The five-story pop-up, in New York’s SoHo neighborhood at 215 Lafayette Street, features a point of sale, but the intention also goes beyond the product. Sturm will be hosting master classes as well as expert panel discussions, EveLab skin analysis and consultations, wellness programming and a focus on anti-inflammatory nutrition.
It will be open for three days, starting May 16.
Dubbed the “Anti-inflammatory Haus: Hydration Edition,” the activation coincides with the 10th birthday of Sturm’s hero product, the Hyaluronic Serum. It follows a successful first incarnation of the concept in London, which Sturm said was successful enough.
The components of the pop-up also reflect how much the consumer has changed in the decade since it launched, as part of a broader merging of wellness and skin care.
“People are highly educated, but get overwhelmed with so much information on social media, press and Google,” Sturm said. “Sometimes, I meet people and I’m surprised that they still haven’t understood certain consequences on their health and the basics of healthy living.”
A rendering of the interior of Dr. Barbara Sturm‘s Anti-inflammatory Haus: Hydration Edition.
It’s a hefty marketing play, but Sturm contended that she’s not one to let a marketing engine drive the direction of her business.
“When I started doing the serum, there was no brand with a hyaluronic serum on the market. I was injecting the ingredient into the skin but wanted a topical one for the outside. Now, it’s a household name,” Sturm said. “The intention was not, ‘Oh, let’s create a hero product and make a lot of money.’ My intention was that it would be so great for skin and for my patients.”
Furthermore, Sturm thinks that’s becoming a key differentiator of the brand.
“The ideas of creating a product are so different. Skin care brands come out for all the wrong reasons; it’s all marketing and getting it to catch fire,” she said. “That’s not how a serum should be discovered; it should come to market because it’s working, it’s effective and you see the results.”
Her consumer has evolved, and so has the beauty landscape, but Sturm still tries to tune out the broader market trends. “I’m not sitting in my office wondering what could be a trend, or how to make a product stand out on Instagram every two minutes. That’s not how I work,” she said.
Sturm tries to tap into the same psyche as she iterates the brand’s next chapter, which as of 2024, is now owned by Puig. Per the company’s most recent financial results, sales in skin care grew 19.8 percent on a reported basis to 516.2 million euros.
“They’re super organized, super on the case, and masters of retail,” Sturm said of the new owners, adding she would be expanding her brick-and-mortar footprint in coming months. “You will soon see travel retail and great counters in the best locations. We’re also working on the best new products.”