You’ve probably heard of huge beauty brands like Fenty Beauty and Rare Beauty, which superstars Rihanna and Selena Gomez are associated with, respectively.
But you’d be forgiven if you’ve never heard of a company like Stripes Beauty, the menopausal wellness brand founded by actor Naomi Watts, which filed for bankruptcy a year after its debut. (It was later acquired by L Catterton, a private equity firm co-founded by LVMH.)
The number of beauty brands with celebrity founders has exploded in recent years. According to market research firm NielsenIQ, which tracks 43 such brands, sales of big-name beauty brands will exceed $1 billion in 2023, making them the first company in history to reach that milestone. But having a celebrity founder isn’t necessarily the secret to success.
“There is no debate about the ability of celebrities to move consumer behavior,” Ivan Kaiser, CEO of Stagwell brand consulting firm RedScout, told Marketing Brew. “But it’s not as simple as ‘sticking your face on something and calling yourself a founder.'”
Some brands, like supermodel Miranda Kerr’s 15-year-old brand Kora Organics, are trying to de-emphasize the celebrity status of their founders and focus on other ways to build their brand.
“Celebrities come and go, but we don’t associate ourselves with celebrity brands,” Lauren Elias, the brand’s general manager and chief marketing officer, told Marketing Brew. “We have stayed true to our roots for the past 15 years.”
long game
Kora Organics officially debuted in Australia in 2009, the United States in 2017, and worldwide soon after. Elias said the brand’s products have been featured in media outlets such as Vogue and Allure, and are used by other celebrities such as singer Katy Perry. Since expanding internationally, Kora has expanded its presence to more than 40 countries, according to Harper’s Bazaar Australia. The brand declined to share specific sales numbers, but Elias said the company is experiencing “double-digit year-over-year growth.”
As Cora has grown, the brand has “worked very hard to reposition her as a founder and away from people who associate her with a Victoria’s Secret Angel,” Elias said.
Elias attributes the brand’s longevity to its evolving marketing and branding strategies, including leaning more towards organic partnerships in recent years rather than relying solely on paid marketing.
“We are focused on increasing brand awareness and creating buzz and excitement about the brand,” she said. “We have definitely evolved our marketing model from just pay-to-play vehicles like paid media, paid sampling and paid events to more organic partnerships.”
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Elias said the brand is trying to avoid “one-dimensional marketing programs” and is looking to promote new products through partnerships with brands with similar values. For its cleansing balm, which launched last month, Cora partnered with Hatch, a company that sells sleep aids, to help promote the product.
Cleansing balms are “soothing and relaxing… Partnering with Hatch seemed like the perfect synergy,” she said. “We love these partnerships because they allow us to piggyback on the consumer base of other brands, which not only helps us grow our own brand awareness, but also gives us the opportunity to discover entirely new brands. They probably haven’t even heard of it.”
Let’s do the math
Celebrity beauty brands that are thriving are truly thriving. Gomez debuted on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in September, according to Bloomberg, with “a huge portion of her wealth… tied to rare beauty.” Rihanna became a billionaire in 2021, according to Forbes, which noted at the time that “the majority of her fortune comes from the value of Fenty Beauty.”
A recent report from packaging company Arca found that six of the 10 most successful celebrity-owned businesses are mostly beauty or skincare brands. Rare Beauty came in third place on Arca’s list, just ahead of Fenty. (Kora was not on the list)
Because of their attachment to celebrities, celebrity beauty brands can provide a useful element for branding, Kaiser said. In other words, there’s often no need to build a story around a founder that the public already knows.
But other celebrity brands are also connecting their branding to causes beyond their famous founders, like Kora, which is tying its brand to wellness initiatives and organic farming. For example, Rare Beauty has sought to highlight the importance of mental health, which Gomez herself has championed, through everything from partnerships and activations to the charity Rare Impact Foundation.
But that said, there may be benefits to harnessing the power of celebrity, Elias said, with Kerr appearing on a health and wellness-focused podcast to “tell her story.” He pointed out that.
“There’s a huge return on investment for Miranda to be on the podcast,” she told us.
