Sol de Janeiro Appoints Chief Marketing and Digital Officer

Sol de Janeiro, best known for its Bum Bum Cream, has appointed Jordan Saxemard as its chief marketing and digital officer, effective Monday.

Heela Yang, co-founder and chief executive, hailed Saxemard’s leadership skills and said he understood Sol de Janeiro’s roots as both high-performance skincare and a joyful beauty brand.

“[Saxemard] understands that great brands today live at the intersection of culture, innovation, and emotion,” said Yang in a statement.

Speaking exclusively to The Business of Beauty, Saxemard hailed the company’s progress to nearing $2 billion in sales.

“It’s a big task, but I think we have so much more to achieve,” he said.

Saxemard has more than 20 years of experience at firms like Dyson and Coty. As vice president of marketing for Coty’s luxury division, Saxemard oversaw the revamp of Gucci fragance and the relaunch of its makeup line, whilst also working on Chloé and Bottega Veneta perfumes.

Since launching in 2015, Sol de Janeiro quickly carved out a niche in fragranced body care with playful products like its signature Bum Bum Cream ($48) and gourmand perfume mists (starting at $26). It has become a Sephora best-seller and is especially popular with younger customers who collect the body mists. It was acquired by beauty group L’Occitane in 2021.

Saxemard said his immediate priorities, after immersing himself in the brand’s digital community, will be to add more firepower to its marketing by looking at social commerce, and potentially experimenting with AI to enhance its advertising capabilities. He said it is “magical” when you have “very strong creative that is very emotional and embedded into what the DNA of the brand” paired with a “tech approach.”

While Saxemard said the brand exists in a digital world, he’s also focussed on building relationships with existing brick-and-mortar retail partners like Sephora and Ulta Beauty.

“Being very close, like attached at the hip, with our retailers has been truly life changing for some brands I’ve worked on before,” he said.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Mon. Oct. 27 to include comment from Heela Yang.

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