Maesa's Ontu Launch Aims to Elevate Mass-Market Body Care to Facial-Grade Standards
In a strategic move to capture the burgeoning body care market, brand incubator and manufacturer Maesa is launching Ontu, a new line promising facial-grade skincare efficacy for the body. The products debut this weekend before a wider rollout to Target endcaps in March, with prices set between $14.99 and $22.99.
The launch follows Maesa's successful track record of introducing trend-driven brands to the mass market through Target. Previous ventures like fine fragrance line Fine'ry and celebrity-backed Being Frenshe with Ashley Tisdale each projected first-year sales around $20 million. While executives remained tight-lipped on specific forecasts for Ontu, the company's confidence in the concept is evident.
"Our partnerships with retailers are built on shared trust and a vision for disruptive innovation," said Molly Kennedy, Maesa's Vice President of Brand Marketing. "Ontu represents this perfectly—it's about applying the same level of science and care we expect for our faces to our entire body."
Dana Steinfeld, Senior Vice President of Brand Incubation and Product Innovation, highlighted shifting consumer mindsets as a key driver. "We identified a clear need, particularly among older Millennials and Gen X," she explained. "There's a growing realization that 'skin is skin'—the attention once reserved for the face is now extending downward. We're meeting that evolution."
The Ontu range features a mix of established and emerging actives, including a glycerin-based cleanser, a urea-infused body scrub, a firming body butter, a targeted serum, and a 24-hour moisturizing lotion. A signature vanilla musk fragrance is designed to unify the collection with a "layering experience."
Marketing will blend clinical claims with accessible education, leveraging aesthetician and dermatologist endorsements. "Our goal is to build engaging storytelling, not just run promotions," Kennedy noted. "We want to help consumers navigate this new category and understand what their skin needs."
Industry Voices React:
"This is a logical and overdue progression for the mass market," said Elena Rodriguez, a beauty retail analyst. "Maesa is adept at spotting white space. If they can deliver true facial-grade efficacy at this price, it will pressure prestige brands."
"I'm skeptical about the 'clinical backing' claims at these price points," remarked Marcus Thorne, a cosmetic chemist and industry blogger, with a sharper tone. "This feels like clever marketing repackaging. Calling a body butter 'facial-grade' is a stretch—the formulation challenges for body versus face are fundamentally different. It's a premiumization narrative, not a revolution."
"As a consumer, I'm thrilled," shared Priya Chen, a wellness content creator. "My skincare routine felt incomplete stopping at my neck. An affordable, sensorial serum for my body? That's a game-changer for my self-care ritual."