When 30,000 sheet masks arrived at Jen Yu and Alex Penfold’s doorstep, they knew there was no turning back. The husband-and-wife team behind Jaxon Lane had committed everything to their vision of creating serious skin care for men that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
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What started as Alex constantly stealing Jen’s expensive skin care products evolved into a brand that caught the attention of celebrities like Nick Jonas, who told GQ he “cannot live without the Bro Mask.”
Jen and Alex joined the Shopify Masters podcast to offer tips for founders looking to develop effective products and build PR relationships that deliver lasting impact.
Starting with a problem worth solving
Jaxon Lane emerged from a common household frustration—men stealing their partner’s skin care products. “It almost felt like the more expensive or premium skin care, the more he wanted it.”
This led them to ask a crucial question: Why wasn’t there a men’s skin care brand that’s marketed to men that feels approachable for them and is actually an excellent quality product? The answer revealed a significant market gap. Everything available was “just not good—it was, like, dyed blue and kind of ugly packaging, and it wasn’t as good as what was available for women, which is why they were all stealing their partners’ products,” Jen says.
Going the distance for product excellence
Jen and Alex spent a year trying to source quality products online before making a bold decision. “Eventually, we realized we really had to go in person to find manufacturers,” Jen says. They flew to Korea, the beauty capital of the world, to work directly with manufacturers.
“When we went there, we realized (in) Korea, they make all of their sales selling to countries like China because the market’s so big. So they didn’t have a big focus on selling to American companies. That’s why you couldn’t get the good stuff online,” Jen says.
Going straight to the beauty capital of the world not only led them to their manufacturer, it also helped them build relationships and trust—which is especially important for newer businesses looking to start with smaller order quantities.
Designing effective products to solve real problems
Jaxon Lane’s first product, the Bro Mask is sized up and made in 2 pieces, so guys with beards can use half and it’s the only 5x award winning sheet mask designed just for men. The mask addressed specific functional issues that existing products failed to solve. “If I ever had any facial hair, all the masks at the time were one piece, so then they would hang over the facial hair and it just wasn’t really compatible,” Alex explains.
The brand’s solution was elegantly simple: Design a mask with a man’s face in mind. This meant a larger size than standard sheet masks and split into two pieces so those with facial hair could use only the top piece, while those without could use both. “Men do have thicker skin, so the formulation can benefit from being a little bit stronger with active ingredients,” Alex says. It also focused on soothing skin issues like inflammation from shaving and hyperpigmentation, and using ingredients that absorb easily without feeling heavy or greasy.
Jaxon Lane found success not by reinventing skin care, but by thoughtfully adapting it for an underserved market segment.
Building PR relationships that compound over time
Many startups chase short-term PR wins. Jen and Alex understand that effective public relations takes time. Their approach began with a stroke of luck: A friend offered to handle their PR at a reduced rate. “PR’s not a thing where you can turn it on and in three months you’re in all these magazines. It really is a long-term commitment,” Jen says.
They started by gifting products to celebrities, which is how Nick Jonas discovered the brand. They also targeted micro-influencers who were reviewing sheet masks daily. When these influencers tried the Bro Mask, many concluded it was the best one they’d used.
A micro-influencer strategy can create a valuable flywheel effect. “A lot of the writers that were writing for magazines were actually following some of these micro-influencers, and then they would reach out to our publicist or to our team directly and be like, ‘Hey, I just saw this review about the sheet mask. Can you please send me one?’” Alex says.
Making bold branding decisions that drive attention
One of the most controversial decisions Jaxon Lane made was calling its flagship product the Bro Mask. “We went back and forth on this a lot because we didn’t want to be the bro brand or the college-frat-boy-type situation,” Alex admits. However, they recognized that men walking by skin care displays are not really into skin care. “Maybe they’re gonna stop and read the back of this box and figure out what this is about,” Alex says.
“People are getting the Bro Mask expecting it to be something ridiculous and not very good, and then they’re like, ‘Oh wait, this is actually excellent.’ It’s sort of that jarring experience,” Jen says.
By intentionally contrasting premium quality with playful branding, Jaxon Lane has further differentiated itself in the market.
Preparing for success before it happens
Jen knew the power of good PR, but more importantly, she knew the power of acting quickly to capitalize on the momentum after a media mention drops. When The Wall Street Journal quoted the couple in a feature on men’s skin care, orders followed. “It wasn’t about us, it was about just men doing sheet masks in general,” Jen recalls, but their participation in the broader conversation positioned them as go-to experts.
Likewise, when their viral moments happened on social media, they had already secured proper licensing agreements, built relationships with manufacturers, and established distribution channels to prepare. “You kind of have to look into this a little bit,” Alex notes about the back-end work required to capitalize on media attention. “You have to pay the publishing company to actually license out the ability to tell anyone about the fact that you won the award.”
At the Indie Beauty Expo in February 2020, the couple met reps from Neiman Marcus, a connection that became valuable as retail partnerships developed. The decision to attend this event wasn’t random—they had built relationships with Beauty Independent editors and chose the more intimate trade show, where they could stand out rather than get lost among thousands of vendors at larger events.
Focusing on the long game of category creation
Jaxon Lane’s success reflects a broader truth about building in emerging categories: Patience and persistence often matter more than first-mover advantage. “We’re still so early in the growth of the men’s space,” Jen says. Men’s beauty is growing so much faster than the women’s space, but at the same time, it’s still very small in terms of penetration. Success often comes from consistent execution over time rather than trying to capture an entire market immediately.
Effective products and successful PR don’t happen by accident. They result from deeply understanding customer problems, while being willing to invest in quality and build relationships. Watch the full episode on the Shopify Masters YouTube channel to discover the pitching strategies and relationship building tips that really moved the needle for Jaxon Lane.