Victoria’s Secret Debuts Digital Brand for Tweens
The new brand offers an assortment of size-inclusive and gender-free products, including sweats, swim, bras, undies and family friendly body care for tweens ages 8-13. The brand is wholly separate from Victoria’s Secret and available online.
The brand launch is a big shift in direction for Victoria’s Secret, which has been updating its brand image for the past few years. The brand has canceled its infamous runway show, added a lineup of new ambassadors and relaunched its marketing strategy. Victoria’s Secrets parent company L Brands also spun off the brand and changed its name from L Brands to Bath & Body Works Inc. The overhaul came after Victoria’s Secret sales fell behind competitors over the past several years as other retailers embraced body inclusivity and targeted younger consumers.
Happy Nation aims to create judgment-free products for tweens that are accepting, inclusive and supportive. The brand came to be thanks to collaborations with various internal leaders as well as external experts, with everything across the brand –– from the creative to photography and social media –– fostering a safe, inclusive and supportive environment.
“We heard from tweens and their parents that they felt like there isn’t an apparel or beauty brand that celebrates and lends a helping hand in their personal evolution,” Claudine Rankin, GM at Happy Nation, said in a press release. “As a mother, I feel a deep responsibility to be intentional about every decision behind this brand. The tween years can be a time of immense change and challenges yet excitement for both tweens and their parents, and we hope Happy Nation can provide the authenticity that younger generations crave, while offering comfy clothing and body care products that kids and their parents can feel good about.”
The brand also has three core values: empowered to give, connected to community and friendly to the plant. Victoria’s Secret does not plan to sell Happy Nation at retail stores at this time, engaging with customers online and on social media instead. Happy Nation will also have a presence in the metaverse on a popular youth gaming platform later this summer, the company said.
“This is a new demographic for us, so we’ll be continually gathering feedback as more people get to know Happy Nation,” Susan Anderson, vice president of creative at Happy Nation, said in a statement. “We want to make sure we’re engaging in ways that feel authentic to and resonate with our Happy Crew, such as our upcoming metaverse integration and presence on one of the most popular youth gaming platforms. Entering the metaverse is such a natural extension for this brand –– I’m thrilled to be a part of a ‘first’ for this company.”