Case Study

Project Overview 

Dr. Liia Ramachandra fills many roles in her everyday life, from that of a CEO to a mother, doctor, and patient. However, it was her role as a patient — and her own needs and experiences as one — that instilled in her a desire to create Epilynx

Epilynx by Dr. Liia is a hypoallergenic, vegan, clean beauty and skincare brand that seeks to provide affordable, clean products to those suffering with skin allergies and irritations. Upon discovering that she had psoriasis, gluten sensitivity, and psoriatic arthritis, Dr. Liia knew she needed something that would help her. However, she found that no skincare/beauty company could fully claim that their products were gluten-free, allergen-friendly, and vegan. Instead, she decided to create her own products to help patients and people struggling with autoimmune disease and allergies. 

Epilynx seeks press to increase their ROI and gain a loyal customer base. Dr. Liia began Epilynx by revamping her website and Amazon store with the aim of launching customized skincare products for each customer, rebranding consistently, and overhauling the packaging of her products. The company was also moving to a larger lab facility, having outgrown their current one. Dr. Liia came to Otter PR to educate consumers about health, skincare needs, and beauty. She wanted to use her experience and voice to share important messages about “clean” skincare and skin conditions while also exposing more people to her unique, clean skincare products and overall beauty brand.

The Problem

Gluten is ubiquitous; it is extremely difficult to eliminate gluten completely from your life, but can be done through dedication to a cleaner lifestyle. Dr. Liia had researched various skin care and household products, but found that, surprisingly, gluten was in everything that we would mark as convenient to daily life. She wanted to meet the needs of people who are sensitive to allergens, including gluten, as well as other types of preservatives that are commonly found in everything we ingest or put on our skin.

Necessity is indeed the mother of all inventions. Using the skills she learned as a scientist, along with her husband’s expertise in providing solutions to problems, she knew that she could help an innumerable amount of people; thus, Epilynx by Dr. Liia was formed. With a focus on curating products for those with gluten sensitivities, allergies, autoimmune conditions, and sensitive skin, she started small by inventing the first of Epilynx’s serums and creams to help improve skin health and complexion. 

They help people feel confident and empowered that the skincare and makeup they will be buying from them is ‘safe’ to use. An example is people with celiac disease can not have any gluten however a lot of the skincare products do contain gluten, which makes it unsafe to use. Same with customers with allergies and sensitive skin. Many customers are allergic to nut oils, but coconut oils are almost in every product. They made it their mission to be gluten, casein, dairy, nut oil, etc free.

The Strategy

We decided to position Dr. Liia as a “clean” skincare and beauty expert who could weigh in on the conversation surrounding “clean” beauty. Our team formed a strategy to pitch Dr. Liia and Epilynx to news outlets with opportunities to comment on legislation at a federal level, using successful pitch angles, media monitoring, and Dr. Liia’s unique ideas to draw media attention. 

We also used her as an expert to discuss major recalls in the beauty industry and common misconceptions. Due to Dr. Liia’s has vast knowledge resulting from her research and experience working in big pharma, she was more than willing to share and educate others on these factors, which set her apart from most other thought leaders in the beauty industry. As we continued to garner more media coverage for Epilynx by Dr. Liia, we saw both her and her brand rapidly becoming an expert and common name in the “clean” beauty industry.

Business Impact (results)

In just three months with Otter PR, Epilynx by Dr. Liia was able to receive dozens of individual pieces of media coverage across scores of national news outlets. Along with being featured and published as a thought leader in such top tier outlets as Today, Thrive Global, Women.com, Beauty Hub Magazine, Influencive, Modern Professional, and Forbes, our team was also able to help land Dr. Liia numerous interviews and speaking engagements with publications including the “Healthy Home Hacks” and “Healthy Living, Healthy Planet” podcasts, WBBM news radio, and WFLA television news in Tampa.

After one press release was submitted about the success of EpiLynx’s eyeliners on Amazon, Dr. Liia saw eyeliner sales increase to 10 times the number that was selling before. As a result of these successes in media, Epilynx by Dr. Liia has rapidly ascended into a household brand name in the skincare and beauty industry. The brand has grown by an astronomical 1,500% since its launch, and is now able to expand its product line — as well as a mobile app — to better serve its loyal customers. 

Moreover, Dr. Liia is now recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts and thought leaders in the sector of “clean” beauty and skincare, and is regularly featured and interviewed for her subject matter expertise.

Courtney Walker

Courtney Walker

Are you a good fit?

The amount of publicity they have generated for has been nothing short of impressive. It has dramatically increased new clients by 30% and I have seen my platforms grow 2-fold

Mike Mandell

@lawbymike

Interested in working with Otter PR?

Fill in the form below to book a 15 min no-obligation consulting session.