Sulzbach, 12 May 2026 – Traditionally, fans and creators have often been treated as two separate worlds in marketing. essence is moving beyond this perspective and sees both groups as part of one vibrant, fluid community. In reality, the boundaries have long since started to blur: fans become creators, and creators are genuine brand lovers.

With the essence Club, cosnova has created and successfully launched the right infrastructure for this new dynamic. The Club is far more than a loyalty programme, it is the brand’s central advocacy engine: a platform that brings rewards, belonging and creator development together in one system, enabling a new generation of brand relationships.

The road to launch followed a clear strategy. At the end of 2025, a co-creation phase began with the brand’s 15 closest creators and superfans from Germany and the Netherlands, allowing initial bugs to be identified and resolved at an early stage. This was followed by a test phase with around 200 users to stress-test the infrastructure. The essence Club is now open to up to 10,000 members. A full opening to additional members without a cap is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026, followed by expansion into further countries next year.

An advocacy engine, not just a loyalty tool: a new model for brand relationships

The essence Club is the answer to a question the entire industry is asking: How can a brand build reach, credibility and a sustainable creator ecosystem at the same time without losing strategic focus between these objectives?

Our answer: by no longer separating community from creators.

“A state-of-the-art loyalty programme no longer draws a hard line between community and creators - and with the essence Club, we are building the infrastructure for exactly this fluid spectrum,” says Annika Spitz, Team Lead Global Community Experience, Loyalty & Consumer Connection. “Our advocacy engine is built on genuine brand love: when fans become creators, the highest form of credibility emerges and with it, a clear strategic advantage for us.”

The Club does not treat three target groups as separate silos, but as one shared journey:

• Shoppers benefit from transactional loyalty: points for purchases, a transparent earn-and-burn logic, and attractive rewards.
• Brand lovers gain access, closeness and a sense of belonging: exclusive content, sneak peeks, community formats and real opportunities to help shape the brand.
• Aspiring and established creators find an enablement platform within the Club, along with the opportunity to become part of the growing essence creator pool.

“People today have very different expectations of brands - from rewards and closeness to active participation. The essence Club is designed to reflect exactly this diversity within one system,” says Annika Spitz.

Created with the community, not for it

The essence Club is the result of consistent co-creation. In sessions with the brand’s closest superfans and creators, as well as through ongoing exchange with an international Youth Board, early prototypes were tested, feedback was prioritised and features were sharpened. The results are tangible: 23 bugs were identified and fixed, 29 UX optimisations were implemented, 17 ideas for new features were added to the roadmap and, based on community feedback, one merchandise item was adjusted before production even began.

“Community is the foundation for brands and sets the direction,” emphasises Annika Spitz. “Our vision is for there to be at least one person in every city in the world who loves essence as much as we do, someone who carries the brand forward authentically, with local relevance and genuine enthusiasm. Closeness beats reach, trust beats attention. For us, this is what community-first beauty means: building relationships, city by city.”

Roles instead of tiers: our next step forward

The essence Club aims to gradually replace rigid status tiers with a more flexible role-based model that reflects how actively members contribute - from fan to co-creator to creator. Work on this forward-looking role feature is currently in full swing, because we are convinced that advocacy is not created by purchase volume alone, but through genuine participation.

The first pilot elements are already laying the foundation: challenges and community formats make engagement visible, co-creation sessions with creators and fans test ideas live, and feedback loops show which forms of participation create the greatest value. In this way, we want to pave the way from passive brand love to active brand advocacy.

How the essence Club works

The principle is simple and straightforward: take part, collect points, redeem rewards. For purchases of essence products - both online and offline - members upload their receipt and receive points, which can be exchanged for highlights such as favourite products, limited-edition merchandise, exclusive content, event spots, workshops and co-creation opportunities.

Those who share their essence love on social media can collect even more points: they simply connect their Instagram account in their profile and tag the essence brand page in their content - the Club takes care of the rest. For TikTok, members can submit links to their posts. Points are then automatically credited to their account.

Anyone interested can sign up now directly at club.essence.eu. Transparent participation terms and responsible data handling are a matter of course; users can find all details directly in the Club portal.