We Turn Good Products into Brands That Are Clear, Distinctive, and Easy to Choose
Evidence-based brand strategy for founder-led brands
Whether you’re preparing to launch or deciding what your brand needs next, we’ll help you take a position that isn’t interchangeable with everyone else’s. We find that position in what they already buy, say and do.
From a Strategist Who’s Worked On:
THE SHEO APPROACH
A Great Product Will Only Take You So Far on Its Own
Most brands are built as they go. You might've started with your product and only develop your brand’s position and messaging when you want to launch a new campaign, pitch to a retailer or potential partner, or raise investment. That’s completely normal when you also have a business to run.
But it also means important decisions can depend heavily on what makes sense to you and your team, without putting enough consideration into what your target customer cares about in a product like yours, which other brands she considers when choosing, or which other areas of her life influence what she prefers from your category.
We offer four unique strategic services, but they all start with research. You bring what you know from building your business so far, and we research how your customer and category should shape what you do next. Then we use all of that for the work you came to us for: a strategy for a new brand, a new strategy for a growing brand, an audit of one that’s already selling or consumer insights to help inform one specific, important decision.
hello
Your Brand as the Foundation for What You Do Next
We develop a strong position for your brand that makes future decisions easier. You and your team can use it to develop products, choose partnerships, and plan campaigns that appeal to your target customer and strengthen what you want your brand to be known for.
A Stronger Position Through Her Wider Interests
We find new angles for your positioning and messaging by researching your customer’s wider interests and the brands she buys outside your category. Those connections give you more to compete on than the repetitive promises in your category alone.
Specialist Knowledge of Brands for Women
Through dozens of beauty launches and work across fashion and lifestyle, we’ve seen how brands for women present their products. We use that experience to spot what customers have seen before and where your brand could offer something they’d value more.
OUR paper trail
We’re Always Studying Brands, Consumers, and Culture
When e.l.f. acquired Rhode, we wanted to know what people made of the news. We analysed 113,000 reactions across beauty, fan and pop-culture communities and found three audiences with three very different takes on the same deal.
All the talk about brand communities got us curious, too. We compared Sephora’s six-million-member Beauty Insider forum with a much smaller organic subreddit. We analysed 50,000 posts to see how actively people took part in each.
And when fragrance brands started appearing on Reddit, we looked into who was behind the accounts. Were these fan accounts, brands trying out a ‘finsta’, or something in between?
These are research projects we choose ourselves. We see something happening in the market and want to understand who’s involved, what they think and why. We bring that same curiosity to your project, starting with what you want to understand about your brand, your customers and the market you’re competing in.
200K+
consumer conversations analyzed
300+
niche consumer forums actively tracked
9 years
of expertise in global beauty strategy
40+
product launches led by our founder
OUR FLAGSHIP
The Little Brand Book
Your complete brand strategy, beautifully presented in an A5 leather binder. We develop a stronger position for your growing brand, with direction for everything from your product range to your customer experience and a practical plan for the next 12 months. A digital version makes it easy to share the strategy with your team and partners.
LAUNCH STRATEGY
The Brand Capsule
Know who you’re building for and why she should choose you before you launch. We develop your positioning, personality and brand voice, with ready-to-use messaging for your main product and a first-year plan.
BRAND AUDIT
The Brand Edit
Before you invest in a rebrand, website or campaign, find out what actually needs attention. Our two-week audit assesses your entire brand and shows you which changes to make first and why they’re worth your time and budget.
Look inside ↗
Learn more ↗
CONSUMER INSIGHTS
The Audience Dossier
Bespoke research built around an important decision for your brand. For example, you might be deciding how to reach a new audience or which direction to take with your next campaign. We study your category and three other parts of your customer’s online life to understand what shapes her choices. You’ll get the evidence behind our findings and specific ways to use them in the decision you’re making.
Hi, I’m Lara!
I’ve spent the last 7 years helping global brands connect with the women they sell to in smarter, more meaningful ways
Let’s Find the Right Support for Your Brand
THE FITTING CALL
Every project starts with a complimentary 30-minute conversation with Lara, our founder and lead strategist. We’ll get to know your business, and you can ask about working together before committing to a project.
We’ll discuss what you want to achieve and where you’d like support. You might be preparing to launch or considering a new direction for a brand that’s already selling. We’ll also ask about what you’ve tried so far, so we can explain which service fits your plans and why.
From there, we’ll talk you through what the project would involve. If a different kind of support would be more useful, we’ll tell you that too, and finish by agreeing on the next step together.
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
Sara Wilson
Founder & Principal, SW Projects
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Take Any or All
oUR TREAT
Strategy, in your inbox. Trend breakdowns, consumer insights, and brand analyses — all backed by data, and sent when there's something worth saying, not on a schedule.
the NEWSLETTER
Read the Substack ↗
Know something’s off, but can’t quite tell what? Our free quiz asks 18 questions about your brand to help you narrow down where the issue could be. It takes about five minutes.
the quiz
Take the Quiz ↗
Our free YouTube masterclasses on The Sheo Way use practical examples to help you build a distinctive brand your target customers have a reason to choose.
the MASTERCLASSES
Watch the Masterclasses ↗
Getting stocked is exciting, but so is deciding what your customers experience when they buy from you. Here’s why your DTC channel deserves attention alongside your beauty brand’s retail ambitions.
Every time you market your business, your target audience forms another opinion about it. Is it the one you intended? Here’s how both strategy types work together to define how customers see you and whether they buy from you.
