Article Twinkle: The road to success: Pink Gellac x Monta

Pink Gellac, the Dutch market leader in gel nail polish, is growing rapidly abroad. What makes the company so successful? How is fulfillment company Monta supporting them in this?

The rapidly growing sales figures of the gel nail polish company speak for themselves: Gel nail polish is immensely popular. Personal grooming is increasingly valued, even more so now. In fact, the sales of Pink Gellac starter sets have received a significant boost and have proven to be extremely popular among the target audience. With such a starter set, customers have everything they need to easily apply beautiful gel nail polish at home, eliminating the need for a visit to a nail salon. As consumers pay more attention to costs, this product is seen as an attractive and cost-effective alternative.

Despite the online success of Pink Gellac, they continue to open new stores. This has proven to be a very successful combination for the gel nail polish company.

Sander Groenendijk, CFOO of Pink Gellac, says, “Omnichannel works very well for us. We use a good mix of online and offline channels for our target audience and maintain the same style across all platforms. Initially, we started with online sales only. After some time, we decided to open physical stores. This had a significant positive impact because often, consumers want to see the color of gel nail polish or a set in person. They want to know the quality and see the result. They can experience all of this in our stores.”

Edwin van der Ham, CEO of Monta, adds, “In addition to supplying Pink Gellac’s stores, we also handle the complete online order processing. With Pink Gellac, consumers can place orders online until 11:45 PM and have them delivered the next day. This requires fast order processing because our delivery drivers arrive at midnight. To efficiently pick and process the various pots of gel polish for Pink Gellac, we have created a customized picking system for this client. We call it the ‘pick-to-light’ system, or in this case, ‘Pink-to-light’ with a nod to Pink Gellac. In this system, all the different variations of Pink Gellac gel nail polish are displayed in an organized manner. A lit-up light on the display indicates the pick location that an order picker needs to visit. A number on the display indicates how many units of that specific nail polish color need to be picked. It’s a very precise and fast way of order picking.”

This collaboration between Pink Gellac and Monta ensures efficient inventory management, seamless order fulfillment, and a smooth shopping experience for customers, both online and offline.

Groenendijk: “Monta has been our fulfillment partner for years, helping us achieve our growth. At Pink Gellac, everything revolves around providing the ultimate customer experience for our products. Over the past year, we have completely revamped our website and branding, and we now have 6 Brandstores. The first Brandstore across the border in Antwerp opened last year, and the most recent opening is in Amsterdam. Several more openings are planned in the coming months. Additionally, we are expanding internationally through various channels, including our own websites.”

“We are a true omnichannel company that is rapidly growing internationally, which presents operational challenges. Key to our path to success is ensuring that our logistics process is in order and remains efficient. With Monta, we have set a clear goal and work together as business partners. The flexibility that Monta offers us is crucial. They are highly pragmatic, maintain short lines of communication, focus on finding solutions, and together we professionalize end-to-end processes through clear agreements and ‘Lean’ meeting structures. It’s a great collaboration!” adds Groenendijk.

Why is this the right time to pursue international growth? Groenendijk is confident: “We have noticed an increasing demand for our products beyond the borders as well. Germany, in particular, represents a significant market. However, having a German webshop and being able to ship products from within the country makes a big difference for German consumers. It instills a sense of trust and familiarity. Additionally, shorter delivery times are also a crucial factor. That’s why we decided to expand across the border with our fulfillment partner, Monta.”

Van der Ham responds: “Pink Gellac became our client in 2013. We have witnessed their journey from a small player to becoming the market leader in the Netherlands. It’s great that we, together with Monta, are now present in Germany, offering our customers the flexibility and capability to ship from within Germany and handle any returns. It is clear that a company like Pink Gellac will eventually make a significant impact on the German market. If we can contribute to their success, it would be fantastic.”