Authentica · 2019-2024 · Product Manager / Lead Designer
Product Design Strategy: Ecosystem
"People don't think what they feel, they don't say what they think, and they don't do what they say." Ogilvy. The company reached out to remake its B2B platform for the clients. But our research showed that its real need was in digitalisation, lead generation, online education and other interesting projects that transpired. As a team we turned this into 11 connected products.
The problem
One of the top B2B distributors of premium professional cosmetics reached out to enhance a 10-year-old platform. Instead, we discovered that they had an underlying service ecosystem and turned it into a digital one: 11 connected products, bringing 75% of leads online, 10,000+ stylists learning skills on an education platform with 9/10 NPS, and the company sells custom trial-boxes on its own platform.
Process
- 01
Research the business — 3 months mapping customer journeys and business processes in BPMN, JTBD interviews for every salon role, and an audit of existing digital touchpoints.
- 02
Reframe the brief — the findings contradicted the company's self-perception: the ask was "enhance a platform," but the real product was a service ecosystem that wasn't digital yet.
- 03
Define the goals — online lead generation, expert repositioning, faster Time to Value, and selling at earlier business stages became the criteria for every product decision.
- 04
Design a portfolio, not a platform — website, blended learning platform, trial boxes, and a B2B purchasing prototype, built modular and connected so each launch reinforced the others.
- 05
Transfer ownership to internal teams — tracking, CMS training, and cross-functional workflows so the ecosystem could keep evolving without me.
Outcome
- 75% of all leads now come through the website (previously 0).
- 90% of the client base transitioned to digital education within 3 months; NPS 9/10 from 104 responses.
- 10,000+ stylists registered within 3 months, creating a new audience of individuals, not B2B.
Case in detail
Company
Authentica is one of the leading B2B distributors of professional beauty products in the CIS. For 20 years it grew through offline channels and personal relationships, with no meaningful digital presence. By 2019 it had 350 employees, offices in major cities, and a client base of over 15,000 beauty businesses. Yet its website was an outdated catalog that generated zero leads. Every inquiry came through word of mouth or direct sales. That model worked in the premium segment, but it had a hard ceiling: the company could not influence clients before a conversation started, and the founder's personal network was becoming the bottleneck to growth.
My role
I was offered to lead the company's design transformation. The challenge was to turn an offline service business into a digital ecosystem without losing the premium positioning that had taken two decades to build — to build a network of products.
Research and Discovery
I started with three months of research. With a team, we mapped customer journeys and business processes in BPMN, ran JTBD interviews for every salon role — owners, managers, stylists, administrators — and researched existing digital touchpoints. The findings were not consistent with Authentica's self-perception or their strategy: Authentica was perceived as a warehouse, not a brand; stylists did not know they were working with Authentica; sales were fragmented by brand with no unified entry point; and roughly 25% of the market renewed annually, creating a huge early-entry opportunity.
From that research we defined the company's goals and needs: online lead generation, repositioning Authentica as an expert, faster Time to Value, selling at earlier business stages, building brand awareness among stylists, and expanding into new segments. Those goals became a reference point we returned to for years, and the criteria for every product decision.
Ecosystem at core
Even though at first the brief was to "build a B2B platform", the company's goals showed that other products are needed. An interesting observation was that the company was already an ecosystem; it just was not digital. With every contract Authentica provided team training, marketing support, launch consulting, performance analytics, restocking, and ongoing support. The most logical way was to design the digital version of that ecosystem, one product at a time.
Digital product system
Product 1: Authentica Website
Awareness, trust, lead generation, expert positioning
- — New visual language
- — Brand catalog framed as a set of business and professional value propositions
- — Simplified lead forms and first touchpoint process
- — Media section with interviews, case studies, and SEO content
- — Consulting services, including brand selection support
Part of the sales process was repackaged as "free expert help with brand selection". This simplified navigation across brands and replaced complex decision-making with guided expertise. 10–15% of first-touch leads come through this service.
Product 2: Blended learning platform (online + offline)
Lead generation, direct connection with stylists, faster TTV, training for existing clients
- — Online courses with certification for existing clients
- — Online webinars for potential clients
- — Unified structure for both salon owners and stylists
- — Integrated into sales workflows
- — Stylist registration via salon accounts
Mandatory but friction-light stylist registration through salon accounts resulted in 10,000+ professional stylists registered within 3 months, creating a new controlled touchpoint.
Product 3: "Try Authentica" project
Fast entry, trial-based sales, brand testing, reduced TTV
- — Dedicated product site for ordering trial boxes
- — Themed sets developed for salon testing (care, coloring, salon launch, etc.)
- — Integrated as an entry point across other products
- — Limited drops, continuously tested and iterated
To this day, 100% of boxes sell out, while marketing and sales continue experimenting with formats and packaging.
Product 4: B2B purchasing and business growth platform (prototype)
Future marketplace foundation
- — Initial prototype included a catalog integrated with CRM and ERP
- — Designed to gradually evolve into a B2B marketplace
- — Architecture prepared for filters, contracts, and recommendations
- — Project paused until sufficient product analytics and team readiness
Ecosystem
Each product was designed to reinforce the others. The website drove leads to the consultation and trial boxes. The learning platform captured stylists and pushed brand value upstream. The trial boxes created early touchpoints that shortened TTV. Shared data, consistent visual language, and modular architecture made the ecosystem coherent even though it was built in stages.
Results
Results exceeded my expectations. 75% of all leads came through the website, up from zero. 90% of the client base moved to digital education within 3 months. 10,000+ stylists were registered on the education platform, forming a new audience outreach channel. Average NPS after the platform launch was 9/10 across 100+ responses. And the company had a reusable framework for experiments: trial boxes, events, new content formats, and future launches.
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