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As all marketers know, to engage with audiences in a meaningful way, it’s essential to offer accurate, trustworthy content that your audience actually wants and needs. At Homepeel, we set out to do just that by launching Gloe, a digital skincare educator powered by AI. Designed to deliver fast, trustworthy, bite-sized content on skincare and ingredients, Gloe is an avatar with a simple mission: to rebuild trust in skincare through jargon-free education.
So why did we do it? Because we isolated a growing problem that most skincare consumers are quietly struggling with: information overload, confusion and a deep distrust in the industry. The skincare market has become so saturated with conflicting advice, sponsored content, over-promises and fear-based marketing that customers don’t know who – or what – to trust anymore.
That insight became our ‘why’. We saw an opportunity to stand apart by not trying to sell at all. Instead, we decided to focus on building value first through offering real, science-backed education in short-form video content. No fluff. No pitch. Just knowledge.
Answering a genuine consumer problem
This wasn’t just an internal observation. It came straight from our community – real people who felt let down, confused and overwhelmed by skincare. Customers were telling us that they were burnt out on marketing, sceptical of promises and left guessing about what was actually going to work for their skin.
They weren’t alone. Skincare as an industry has long struggled with credibility. Over the past decade, the wave of “miracle ingredients”, endless product launches and conflicting advice has led to what we call “skincare fatigue”. People now actively distrust what they’re being told.
Homepeel has always stood out in this respect. We’ve built our cosmeceutical-grade brand on innovation, ingredient transparency, education and results. Since we launched more than 20 years ago, the industry has become increasingly noisy, and we knew that if we didn’t make our education fast, accessible and consistent, it would be drowned out. That’s where the idea for Gloe was born.
The birth of our digital avatar
Creating educational content isn’t new to us. Our founder Jodie Baker has built a loyal following by appearing in no-makeup, real-talk videos explaining skin science and how our products work.
As the business grew, it became harder to maintain a consistent educational content stream, especially with the demand for high-frequency, platform-native video like TikToks and Reels. We needed something sustainable that we could scale rapidly.
If we had to rely on Baker to record these every week, we simply wouldn’t be able to keep up. We took our innovation ethos and applied it to our marketing and content strategy and decided to leverage the power of AI. Thanks to the rapid advances in AI technology, we’ve been able to create a bespoke solution to our problem.
To power Gloe, we chose to use cutting-edge AI video generation platform, Haygen. It gave us the ability to create high-quality, realistic avatar videos without the time burden of manually scripting, filming and editing each piece of educational content.
When it came to the all-important question of what Gloe would look like, we made the conscious decision not to attempt to replicate Baker. Although we did explore the idea, we realised it would feel inauthentic and even eerie to see a digital replica of a real human our audience was already so familiar with. Gloe had to be her own character. She’s professional, trustworthy and warm – and clearly virtual. By creating Gloe as a unique character, we’ve been able to preserve the authenticity of our brand while embracing innovation.
What Gloe does – and doesn’t – do.
Gloe appears on Homepeel’s TikTok and social media channels twice a week, offering our audience short 30-second educational content. Each video tackles one core idea through a science-first, jargon-free lens. Gloe dives into important skincare questions that can be mystifying, yet people might be afraid to ask, such as “What is niacinamide?”, “Why alcohol can age your skin,” or “The truth about parabens”.
The most important thing? Gloe doesn’t sell.
Critically, Gloe doesn’t mention Homepeel products, pitch bundles or cross-promote. She simply educates.
This was a conscious and strategic move. We know that trust is fragile and the second Gloe became a salesperson, the educational credibility and motive would be diminished. By keeping her content purely educational, we’re providing value up front, without any expectation. Ultimately, this develops loyalty, positioning Homepeel as a thought leader in a highly crowded space.
It was also important for us that the content be light, punchy and accessible – the kind of content people actually consume in real life. Each video includes a scroll-stopping hook, a clear point of value and Gloe’s consistent sign-off:
“I’m Gloe, your digital skincare educator. Follow me for quick, science-backed skincare tips. Education is the most important step to getting the skin of your dreams.”
Addressing the risks we knew we’d face at launch
When we launched Gloe, we knew the idea of a natural skincare brand embracing digital avatars might ruffle a few feathers. After all, Homepeel is known for clean, science-driven products made with integrity. At first glance, AI didn’t feel like the most natural extension of our brand.
But we also knew this wasn’t about replacing humans. It was about solving a delivery problem. Gloe allows us to be more consistent, more responsive and more helpful to our audience, without compromising Baker’s presence. In fact, Baker continues to appear in all product-related videos, giving Homepeel its human heartbeat, while Gloe handles the educational side.
As expected, the reaction was a mixed bag. Some people love Gloe. Others are sceptical. However, the numbers don’t lie. Engagement is already above average for our Reels and we’re also getting strong watch-through rates. The feedback we value most? Comments like, “I didn’t know that!” or “Finally, someone explained that clearly”. That tells us we’re hitting the mark.
What’s next for Gloe?
This is just the beginning. We’re already planning more educational themes, interactive Q&As and user-generated questions for Gloe to respond to. And because the tech is scalable, we’re also exploring multilingual versions for expansion into international markets.
We see Gloe not as a marketing gimmick, but as a long-term strategy to lead with education, build trust and create value before a single sale is made.
And in a world where consumers are more discerning than ever, that might just be the most powerful marketing move a brand can make.
Jodie Baker is the founder of Homepeel, a cosmeceutical-grade skincare brand with over 20 years of trusted results. Passionate about innovation and ingredient transparency, she now explores how AI can empower consumers and transform the future of skincare.
