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Shem Nyachieo, MBA
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Supergoop!

Role
Co-author and design lead
Team
Three-person MBA team
Work
Brand strategy and deck design
Year
2024
A man smiling and holding up a tube of Supergoop Play SPF 50 lotion against a bright sky.
Supergoop sunscreens on a white pedestal under a blue sky.

A study of a brand this visual could not sit in a template. I built the deck from Supergoop’s own identity: sun yellow against navy, the circle as the sun, a bold serif for headlines, and photos of people outside having a good day. Every framework was drawn in that look, so the research felt like it belonged to the brand.

  • Sun yellow

    #FDE12D

    The sun, and every circle that stands for it

  • Supergoop navy

    #233387

    Headlines, frames, and the ground under the yellow

  • Shore cream

    #FBF7EE

    Quiet pages for the dense research

In 2005, a close friend of Holly Thaggard’s was diagnosed with skin cancer in her early thirties. Holly, a former third grade teacher, thought back to kids playing outside at the peak of the day with no sunscreen anywhere on campus. That memory became the company, and it became the spine of our analysis.

“I never once saw a tube of sunscreen on the school campus.”
Holly Thaggard, founder

2004

Holly Thaggard starts working on Supergoop after her best friend is diagnosed with skin cancer.

  • SPF pumps in schools

    SPF pumps in schools

  • The Sunshine Shack

    The Sunshine Shack

  • Solar Powered Summer

    Solar Powered Summer

  • Every skin type

    Every skin type

We mapped what people think of when they hear Supergoop. The strongest links sit closest to the brand. The weak ones on the outside, high price and worries about chemicals, are the friction worth knowing about. Choose a ring, or point at any word.

Strong

SunscreenPreventing skin cancerLightweightNon-greasySmooth applicationAll skin typesVegan and cruelty freeHolly ThaggardMillennialsProtective

Medium

No white overcast

Weak

High priceMay include chemicals

Keller’s brand equity pyramid builds from who a brand is up to the relationship people have with it. Supergoop holds up at every tier, and at the top, Holly’s story is the reason people stay.

SaliencePerformanceImageryJudgmentFeelingsResonance

Tier 1 of 4

Salience

Supergoop sells sunscreen, skincare, and SPF makeup designed to disappear on the skin, online and at Sephora, Ulta, and Nordstrom. The logo looks written in sunscreen, and the yellow stands for the sun.

Every recommendation had to make sense to one person. Sarah is 32, edits sports news, and spends her working days interviewing athletes in the sun.

A woman in a sun hat smiling on a sunny beach.
A packed beach volleyball stadium in the sun.
A beach umbrella over the sea.

What she wants

  • Healthy, youthful skin, especially on camera at outdoor events
  • To understand which products and routines actually work
  • Simple steps that fit a fast schedule

What gets in the way

  • Time outdoors that costs her skin
  • Products that cause breakouts or dryness
  • SPF that needs constant reapplying

Why she picks Supergoop

Its reputation in sun protection, high quality ingredients, easy application, and all the education it publishes on sun care.

On look and protection, Supergoop leads the category. On price and availability, it is the hardest of the six brands to find. The second map is where the growth is, and it shaped all three recommendations.

On look and protection, Supergoop sits alone in the top right.

Look, lowLook, highProtection, highProtection, low
Supergoop
Neutrogena
Sun Bum
Hawaiian Tropic
Banana Boat
Coppertone

We scored Supergoop against seven pillars of authenticity, one to five each. The lower scores come from success itself: a premium price and a brand that has grown past its handmade start.

Average score

0.00 / 5

Storytelling

Holly's founding story is told everywhere, from the website to the packaging.

Three moves, each built on something the brand already does well.

The Supergoop! Standard

Become the number one dermatologist recommended sunscreen.

Invest in research and testing until dermatologists recommend it by name. It deepens the trust customers already place in experts and builds a moat newcomers cannot copy.

Wider reach

Partner with clean beauty and wholesale retailers.

Clean beauty stores reach values driven customers, and Target, Kroger, and Walmart reach parents who never shop at Sephora. Sample stations and brand advocates make the first try easy.

Back to the playground

Launch a toddler sun protection line.

Pediatrician and dermatologist tested, fragrance free, made for toddlers' dry and sensitive skin and to help prevent eczema. It brings the brand back to kids on the playground, where it started.

The deck lists three authors. Here is what I led, and what we did together.

What I led

  • The deck design and visual system: yellow and navy, the sun circle, type, and layout
  • The brand identity audit and the brand association map
  • Jobs to be done and the brand equity pyramid
  • The Sarah Summers persona
  • Both positioning maps
  • The seven pillar authenticity audit
  • The three recommendations

What we did together

  • The founder's story research and the history timeline, with Sammie Christoff and Brian Eck
  • The brand architecture and the brand equity statement
  • The executional converter and references
  • Writing and sharpening every section together

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