Indie Beauty Media Group

Yepoda, the fast-growing K-Beauty brand, has landed series B funding to support retail distribution, global expansion and product development.? ? The round comes as Yepoda, launched in direct-to-consumer distribution in April 2020, has made its retail debut exclusively in Europe at more than 100 SEPHORA stores, including flagship locations on the Champs-Elysées in Paris and Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Milan. Achieving 120% profitable growth in 2024, the brand exceeded 65 million euros or nearly $71 million in revenues and reached over 1 million customers across France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.? ? “We are super excited now to see retail succeed and making sure that consumers and community can reach us in different places than only through our website and really make that connection with the community that we have built online, but also do that offline,” says Sander Joonyoung van Bladel, co-founder and CEO of Yepoda. “In the end, the goal is to build a really long lasting, loved brand and a very exciting beauty brand that is here to stay.”? ? Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/4iBArkz #deals #beautybusiness #capital #kbeauty #investment #beautyindustry #entrepreneurship

Professionals have launched some of the beauty industry’s most beloved brands, and they continue to be at the forefront of innovation in a market that can often seem like a sea of sameness. With a new crop of pro-founded beauty brands gaining momentum on the shelves of big beauty retailers, celebrity makeup artist Nikki DeRoest, co-founder and CEO of ciele cosmetics, and hair extension specialist Victoria Lynch, founder of Remi Cachet, give us a glimpse at how they're leveraging their expertise to erect lasting businesses. Read more: https://bit.ly/3DLnd69 #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews

Meghan Markle, aka the Duchess of Sussex, is ShopMy's latest influencer recruit. After her ShopMy page went live Monday, Saint Jane, which has its Luxury Lip Oil featured on it, saw its lip oil sales surge 50% and website traffic skyrocket 600%. Most influencers in ShopMy's network of over 100,000 aren't that powerful, but the platform is partnering with brands to make content creators more meaningful sales drivers on an ongoing basis. We talked to co-founder and president Tiffany Lopinsky about how it's doing that. Read more: https://bit.ly/3Y8J3XY #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews

At over $1 billion in sales, the business of celebrity beauty brands is bigger than ever, but still a small portion of the roughly $110 billion American beauty industry, according to data from NIQ. And while retailers are scrambling for a piece of the celebrity beauty pie (see Puck's reporting that Sephora has bagged rhode skin for a launch later this year and Ulta Beauty's planned gargantuan rollout of CéCRED in April), gen Z appears to be tiring of celebrity beauty brands a bit, and its spending on them declined year-over-year. NIQ's Anna Mayo says, "We just don’t see a lot of longevity with these brands." Read more: https://bit.ly/4lbKHlN #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews

In the sea of skincare brands, dermatologist and aesthetician founders are common. There are pharmacist founders, but they're rarer. At Plantkos?, a skincare brand available at Bluemercury, Bergdorf Goodman and The Detox Market, founder Sejal Patel is leaning into her expertise as a pharmacist. She says, "Our repeat customer rate is 50% to 53%, and when we ask people, 'Why Plantkos? What makes you want to come back?' The biggest thing is that it's founded by a pharmacist, and they like that there is clinical data behind it." Read more: https://bit.ly/3Y306uy #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews

When Geologie hired investment bank Silverwood Partners last year, it was searching for capital to support its expansion from DTC to retail at Target. The brand leaned into its position in the growing men’s skincare category, reputation for dermatologist-designed formulas and acne products without benzoyl peroxide, an ingredient under the microscope. It received several offers and went with Megalabs, which has added the brand to a vast portfolio generating over $1 billion annually. Geologie co-founder Nick Allen hopes the outcome serves as encouragement to CPG brands looking for exits that aren’t Poppi-sized. He says, “If you have a good business, repeat customers and a great brand, there are bigger companies out there for you.” Read more: https://bit.ly/424Gasv #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews

As B Lab has bestowed B Corp certification on big corporations, many dedicated B Corp brands have grumbled that it’s diluting its value. For Dr. Bronner's, enough was enough. Last month, it cut its B Corp certification loose and called upon B Lab to strengthen its standards to better account for companies’ business practices across the globe. B Lab has said it will update its standards soon to “create a more inclusive, regenerative, and resilient economic system.” But Dr. Bronner’s isn’t waiting. The brand has launched Purpose Pledge, a framework with 10 commitments, from supply chain integrity to community involvement, that companies agree to improve upon over time. Read more: https://bit.ly/4iDLkmd #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews

After eight years of developing formulas and manufacturing capabilities at ROSEN Skincare, founder Jamika Martin felt compelled to offer services to other brands. Her new manufacturer Flora Studios will focus on providing affordable and accessible production, with an emphasis on helping early-stage BIPOC founders thrive in the competitive CPG industry. The launch of Flora Studios is already attracting attention from emerging brands, with around 15 potential clients reaching out so far. Martin expects Flora Studios to work with 30 to 40 clients this year. She says, “We anticipate going wide and having a lot of clients and then, as they grow, they can move on to other partners.” Read more: https://bit.ly/3FFUgsS #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews

Cos Bar, which will open its 21st store in June in Studio City, sells sophisticated beauty products, but it doesn't believe navigating through slumping luxury beauty spending requires ultra-sophisticated tactics. Rather, CEO Oliver Garfield is doubling down on retail fundamentals: high-touch clienteling, a compelling assortment and shopping environment, and judicious capital projects. He says, "The 'back-to-basics' strategy always works. Have the right inventory at the right place at the right time. Have really great people in store that are trained. Have stores that look good." Read more: https://bit.ly/4j4AEwZ #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews

The best lessons often come from people who've already traveled down the path you're beginning to tread. At the upcoming C-Suite Summit, a two-day immersive retreat, Beauty Independent is connecting executives from growth-stage brands with their peers and others that have guided brands from initial traction to significant scale. Beauty Independent publisher Nader Naeymi-Rad says, “There is no established playbook to navigate this period. Everything from channels to competitive forces is constantly changing, often requiring fundamental reexaminations of the value creation plan.” Read more: https://bit.ly/4hJt9dO #hereforthefierce #beautyentrepreneur #wellnessentrepreneur #beautybusiness #beautynews