Essence Ventures Acquires Beautycon Out Of Foreclosure
Beauty Matter | 13 September 2021
Beautycon Media is positioned as the global community for content creators, celebrities, and fans, to come together to celebrate all things fashion, beauty, style, and lifestyle—the passion points of Gen Z and millennials.
Beautycon Media Inc.’s assets have been acquired out of foreclosure by an affiliate of Essence Ventures. Rumors of financial problems and fundraising challenges have circulated since the last Beautycon festival in Los Angeles in August 2019. The troubles have led to layoffs, a civil suit filed in February by 3G Productions, suing Beautycon for nearly $300,000 in damages for breach of contract, and accusations of keeping its investors in the dark. “As we move further into a new normal, there’s tremendous opportunity to do these live and virtual experiences in a physical way that expands the reach that brings the inclusive nature of Beautycon to the globe, as well as localized,” Dennis continued. “We will have local as well as global expansion.”
Ariana Grande announces cosmetics line R.E.M. Beauty, follows trend of pop stars becoming business women
The Miami Hurricane | 14 September 2021
The past decade has seen a noticeable trend in pop superstars making the transition into business women. After seeing the massive success of cultural icons such as Rihanna successfully market their brands like Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty, it is not surprising that many others aim to echo the trend. Other successful pop culture figures who have mounted themselves as business women include Nicki Minaj with her Fendi collection, Beyonce’s Ivy Park clothing line, Iggy Azalea’s Totally Plastic makeup collaboration with Ulta and Lady Gaga’s Haus Laboratories label.
On Sept. 9, pop singer-songwriter Ariana Grande announced the launch of her own cosmetic line, fittingly titled R.E.M. Beauty after the fourth track of her Grammy Award-winning studio album “Sweetener.” Complete with dazzling teasers that feature the “Positions” hitmaker lounging around in a sixties-inspired miniskirt and boots, the announcement thrilled many fans. This is not Grande’s first endeavor into the business world, already having released a string of fragrances throughout the years. Her most recent, labeled “God is a Woman,” acted as her seventh scent featuring a brand-new fragrance style with a vegan, cruelty-free formula of natural ingredients. “I’ve always sort of gravitated towards the ‘50s and ‘60s and ‘70s for glamour references,” Grande said. “I’ve always pictured myself in a different time period. I’ve always wanted to wear that makeup, wear that hair, wear those outfits, be those performers.” She noted that the first products to expect focus on makeup specifically centered towards eyeliners and eyeshadows.
Sustainable e-commerce startup Olive now ships beauty products, in addition to apparel
Tech Crunch | 15 September 2021
Earlier this year, a startup called Olive launched its new shopping site and app with the goal of making e-commerce more efficient, convenient, and sustainable by offering a way for consumers to aggregate their orders from across retailers into single shipments that arrive in reusable packaging, not cardboard. If items need to be returned, those same packages are reused. Otherwise, Olive will return to pick them up. Since its February 2021 debut, the company has grown to include over 100 retailers, predominately in the fashion space. Today, it’s expanding again by adding support for another 25 beauty retailers.
Launch partners on the new effort include brands like Supergoop!, Kora Organics, Pai Skincare, Erno Laszlo, Jecca Blac, Sahajan, Clark’s Botanicals, NuFace, Purlisse, Cover FX, LYS Beauty, SiO Beauty, Peace Out Skincare, Koh Gen Do, Julep Beauty, In Common Beauty, Indie Lee, Glow Recipe, Ursa Major, RMS Beauty, Ceremonia, Sweet Chef, Follain, and BalmLabs. They join Olive’s numerous apparel and accessory retailers like Adidas, Superga, Rag & Bone, Birdies, Vince, Goop, Khaite, and Veronica Beard, among others.
For now, New York-based Olive is growing its business by way of a fundraise of around $15 million from investors including Invus, Primary Venture Partners, and SignalFire.
Beauty’s pandemic IRL promo solution: the food truck
Glossy | 14 September 2021
A guerilla marketing technique inspired by millennials’ love of the food truck, the promo truck has replaced the beauty store pop-up for several brands during the pandemic. Startups including Hero Cosmetics, Summer Fridays and Patrick Ta Beauty have all done truck promotions in the U.S. within the past three months. Most recently, Patrick Ta Beauty celebrated the launch of its new Major Volume Mascara with a mobile pop-up in Los Angeles from September 9-12, hitting up shopping hotspots including Fairfax, Abbott Kinney, Glendale and Melrose Trading Post. Already adopted by Chanel Beauty in pre-pandemic times, the promo truck is catching on among indie startups as pop-ups are only slowly starting to come back. “These activations produce much stronger brand loyalty than digital marketing, so brands are trying to stand out in a crowded field,” said Ben Goldberg, president of Food Truck Promotions. The company worked on the Patrick Ta Beauty activation, as well as Chanel Beauty’s 2018 hot cocoa truck that generated 5 million media impressions.
Some brands do indeed offer food within their beauty activations. This summer, Hero Cosmetics hosted its “Sunscreen ’n Ice Cream” promotion with a truck that drove around six locations in New York and Los Angeles each, offering free samples of its newly launched sunscreen as well as ice cream. According to Amy Calhoun, vp of marketing at Hero Cosmetics, the truck was a better option during the pandemic because “it was outside, which allowed people to feel more comfortable engaging with the activity.” Trucks are also helpful at a time when retail foot traffic numbers remain uncertain. “We could take it to places where our target audience was [sure to] be, rather than being forced into one location that could be hit or miss,” said Calhoun. The brand was able to hand out samples to 5,500 people with its promotion.
Beauty & Wellness Briefing: Inside Walmart’s skin-care strategy
Glossy | 14 September 2021
When it comes to the beauty industry, the skin-care category has been the saving grace throughout the pandemic. Thanks to extended WFH periods and mask-wearing, NPD Group saw sales in the skin-care segment increase 32% year-over-year to $1.5 billion in the second quarter of 2021. And over in mass beauty, skin care saw 5% growth year-over-year in Q2, per Nielsen. As beauty executives rally for makeup’s post-Covid-19 return, there is no denying that skin care has offset color cosmetics’ sales decline for two-plus years.
All brands and retailers have been aware of these shifts (hence the skin care-makeup hybrid effect), but Walmart has made the most significant changes as of late. While the company has worked to improve its beauty assortment across the board, starting first with hair care and then with makeup, skin care’s time to shine is now. Within the last two weeks, Walmart has added 12 new brands to its lineup, including C’est Moi, Mei Apothecary, VitaminSea.Beauty and Walmart-exclusive Skin Proud. Obviously, finding great brands, many of which have social buzz and digital prowess at their core, has been key for Walmart — but Balbale believes he can bring the innovation of a prestige brand to the masses. “We’re in the midst right now of that shift down from the $56 price point to the $20 price point. But we think we can bring that even further [down] to the $10, $12, $15 price points and offer that for the consumer.”
By and large, Walmart’s focus is Gen Z, and there there is evidence that while younger shoppers are more discerning with their products, they are also more price-conscious. The success of indie brands like The Ordinary are proof of that, but so are brands like CeraVe, which have not only been recommended by dermatologists but also by skintellectual influencers like Hyram Yarboro. Thankfully for Walmart, being value-driven doesn’t exclude its tried-and-true older shoppers. NPD also found that skin-care usage for Boomers, ages 57-75, has also increased. These Baby Boomers are also more likely than other generations to say that mass brands are just as good as prestige, and nearly 60% report they only shop to replenish. “Brands that are targeting Gen Z [at Walmart] are accelerating their growth not only because the younger shopper wants to buy it. [It’s] because mom, daughter, father and son all shop at Walmart. We’re seeing Gen X and Boomers buy these products, too, because it makes them feel younger,” Balbale said.
CeraVe Redesigns & Reformulates Baby Line
Beauty Packaging | 15 September 2021
CeraVe has redesigned and reformulated its baby line. The product lineup includes a newly formulated wash and shampoo, to meet the needs of a baby’s developing skin. The products in newly designed packaging include CeraVe Baby Wash & Shampoo, now with Vitamin E, as well as Baby Moisturizing Lotion, Baby Moisturizing Cream and Baby Healing Ointment.
CeraVe products, including the CeraVe Baby line, are formulated with three essential ceramides – 1, 3 and 6-II, which are identical to those found naturally in baby’s skin. Ceramides are naturally found in skin and help seal moisture in and keep irritants out. During the last trimester of pregnancy, the vernix caseosa, which is a naturally occurring protective layer that contains ceramides, covers and protects the baby’s skin. As the vernix caseosa is removed soon after birth, it is critical that ceramides are restored in the baby’s skin barrier. Additionally, a baby’s skin is about 30% thinner than adult skin and continues to mature after birth—making products that contain ceramides even more essential.
Board-certified pediatrician Dr. Whitney Casares says, “I always recommend a routine of gentle products that are specifically formulated for babies, like the CeraVe Baby line, because they are not only developed with pediatric dermatologists but are also formulated with key ingredients like ceramides that can provide long-lasting benefits for skin health.”