Estée Lauder bids on Manchester United to engage Chinese consumers

In what is one of the more unexpected partnerships of this year, beauty giant Estée Lauder has struck up a new deal with Manchester United as it looks to reach the club’s Chinese and Asia Pacific fanbase.

Beginning summer 2023, the duo will kick off the partnership with an inaugural campaign featuring player’s from the football club’s first team, including Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Alejandro Garnacho.

The deal will first spotlight the Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum via both of the firms’ social media platforms, which have a combined reach of over 250 million in China alone.

In a release, Justin Boxford, global brand president of Estée Lauder, said that the first-of-its-kind partnership looks to expand the brand’s reach to a new audience of male consumers.

Boxford continued: "Estée Lauder and Manchester United are both globally recognized as best-in-class brands with incredible heritage with generations of loyal fans around the world, and a shared commitment to delivering peak performance – whether in our products or on the playing field."

Manchester United’s CEO of alliance and partnerships, Victoria Timpson, added that the club recognised the importance of educating fans on a healthy lifestyle, noting skincare was “an integral part of that process”.

She added: “In the same way our athletes prepare the night before a match with regular training rituals, healthy skin also requires a consistent and effective regimen.”