• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, February 12, 2024

Billie, the D2C razor brand that built a rep on encouraging women to think differently about body hair, is making its biggest expansion move yet. In a campaign starring actor and body-positivity advocate Jameela Jamil, the company is introducing 15 new body washes, lotions and deodorants. The effort marks the first time the seven-year-old company has worked with a celebrity, and the launch represents a new level of retail expansion. Co-founder Georgina Gooley tells D2C Insider what’s behind the changing strategy.

D2C Insider: It’s been a few years since Edgewell Personal Care acquired Billie. What made you decide the time was right to expand beyond razors and the shaving products Billie is known best for?

Georgina Gooley: When we launched in 2017, we had always envisioned Billie as the new body brand for womenkind. Shaving was the category we were going after first. And we spent our early years being direct-to-consumer only. Then, in 2022, we had this huge moment going into Walmart stores nationwide. We had a one-year exclusive, and then last year, we started rolling our shaving products out everywhere. We’re in 30,000 stores now, so it’s been a big couple of years. We’re omnichannel, and you can find us anywhere -- mass retailers, Amazon, and D2C. We felt like we were ready to launch this expansion.

D2C Insider: Gaining shelf space in physical retail stores in a new category can be brutally competitive. How hard was it?

Gooley: We're super fortunate to be partnering with Walmart. Body washes and deodorants are available, and body lotion should be on shelves in a few months.

D2C Insider: Jameela Jamil, who most people know from “The Good Place,” is quite outspoken online and sometimes controversial. Why choose her for this campaign?

Gooley: The messages women face from the media and the industry are very much 'We have a body, and it needs to be fixed.’ One of the most defiant things you can do as a woman is just to love your body and yourself because so much of the world around us makes us pick apart all of our flaws and imperfections. We wanted to be a body brand that pushed against that kind of negative corrective language, and constantly telling people, 'You are not perfect. Therefore, buy this product.’

So we thought about recreating the iconic poem from “10 Things I Hate About You.” And Jamil is someone we looked up to because she has been so outspoken against toxic beauty standards. She's a very vocal body positivity activist. She felt like the perfect person to be able to deliver this message.

D2C Insider: Is the primary goal to bring new customers in with the latest products? Or to sell more to your existing fan base?

Gooley: Both. This launch is broadening the audience, but it's also letting existing customers know we can now be found in different parts of the store. From a media perspective, we're on streaming TV, on social platforms, and running ads on Spotify. We’re also doing a Roku homepage takeover, which is fun. There’s a brand awareness media play to let everyone know. Then, we also have product-focused spots that talk more about benefits.

D2C Insider: Your goal is to sell these products, of course. Are you looking for brand perception changes?

Gooley: We are tracking brand awareness, not just with this campaign but on the whole. We pay close attention to engagement, comments and sentiment on social media. We always want to know how people are feeling about us.

D2C Insider: What’s next -- haircare?

Gooley: We have a roadmap, but nothing I can disclose now.