9 Beauty Brands Launching At Ulta Beauty
According to market research firm Circana, lip oil sales were 12X greater last year than they were in 2020, and sales of body mists were up nearly 200%. Meanwhile, masstige clinical skincare propped up the facial skincare segment and was prestige skincare’s largest subcategory last year.
Since hitting $10 billion in revenues last year, Ulta has continued to pull ahead of the retail pack in a challenging environment. Its fourth quarter net sales grew 10.2% to $3.6 billion from $3.2 billion the prior year. Comparable sales for the quarter increased a modest 2.5% compared to 15.6% the prior year. Operating income jumped 15.5% to $517.1 million from $447.6 million last year.
For the full year, Ulta’s net sales increased 9.8% to $11.2 billion, up from $10.2 billion in 2022. Same-store sales advanced 5.7% versus 15.6% the year prior. Operating income for the year grew 2.4% to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion in 2022. Ulta opened 33 stores last year to reach 1,374 locations in the United States. It renovated or relocated 25 stores.
Challenged by stiff competition and lapping robust results in 2022, Ulta’s prestige business shrank last year, but its mass business rose. Skincare was its leading performing category for the year, registering double-digit comp growth. The fragrance and bath and body categories rose in the lower double digits. Prestige makeup declined as mass makeup accelerated. Haircare saw a mid-single digit sales drop as the demand for hair tools decelerated.
The beauty specialty retailer is forecasting same-store sales to climb 4% to 5% for the year, but softer profit margins as it contends with higher supply chain costs and narrowing product margins. Ulta announced its intentions to expand into Mexico in 2025 via a strategic partnership with Grupo Axo, an international distributor that brought Sephora to the region in 2011, and Serena Williams announced she’s placing her new makeup brand, Wyn Beauty, which has 10 products priced from $18 for a lip serum to $28 for a skin tint, in 685 of its stores and online.
Diving further into Ulta’s recent beauty moves, below we explore nine other new brands at the retailer.
Poppy & Pout
Eco-friendly lip care brand Poppy & Pout is rolling out to 1,300 Ulta stores on Sunday with an edited offering that includes seven flavors of Hydrating Lip Balm and two flavors of Exfoliating Lip Scrub. Products are priced between $9.95 for the lip balm and $14.95 for the lip scrub. The brand is available on Ulta’s website.
Poppy & Pout launched in 2014 under the name Bloke Body and initially specialized in producing and selling coffee body scrubs. It transitioned to becoming Poppy & Pout two years later and expanded its assortment to 100 natural skincare and lip care products. It introduced its signature cardboard packaging soon after.
Sales soared in 2021 after the brand’s 10-pack gift set of natural lip balms was featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things List. In addition to Ulta, Poppy & Pout is carried at independent retailers and salons across the country.
Blossom
The makeup, nail care, body care and fragrance brand Blossom will make its debut in 1,300 Ulta stores on Sunday with an assortment of eye-catching lip products that include color-changing balms, roll-on glosses and shimmery glosses. Products in the brand’s Ulta assortment retail for under $10 each.
Owned by parent company Blooming Brands, which houses skincare brand ByBlossom and nail care brand Blue Cross Nail Care, Blossom is stocked at CVS and on Amazon on top of Ulta.
Af94
Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Halsey’s gen Z-targeted makeup brand Af94 made the leap from big-box to specialty retail when it landed in select doors at Ulta in January. The brand previously debuted on Ulta’s website in December of last year with 16 products that include lip stains, bronzer and highlighter duos, lip and cheek products, pimple patches, eye crayons, eyeliners, colored mascaras, false lashes, lip glosses and lip masks. Each product is priced under $10.
Co-developed with Walmart, Af94 debuted as an exclusive brand in approximately 2,900 of the mass market retailer’s doors in 2022. Its original product lineup included eyeshadow crayons, matte lipsticks, cheek and lip tints, makeup remover wipes and face and body stickers.
Af94’s Ulta debut marks the second partnership between the retailer and Halsey. The singer’s color cosmetics brand About Face entered 550 Ulta doors through its emerging brand program Sparked in June 2022 before expanding to almost all doors in its fleet. Developed by Halsey with Hard Candy co-founders Jeanne Chavez and Dineh Mohajer, About Face launched online in January 2021 and sold exclusively direct-to-consumer before entering Ulta.
Unite
Professional haircare brand Unite has arrived on Ulta’s site with a 13-product assortment spanning detanglers, shampoos and conditioners, oils, styling sprays and creams, including $38 7Seconds Detangler, $36 7Seconds Glossing Spray and $49 U Oil. More than 7 million units of 7Seconds Detangler have sold.
Launched in 2003 by celebrity hairstylist Andrew Dale, Unite is carried at Macy’s, Dermstore, SkinStore and on Amazon as well as Ulta.
Vanicream
Vanicream, a brand created for people with sensitive skin that’s been a drugstore staple for years, premiered at Ulta stores chain-wide and on its site last month. Its seven-product collection at the retailer contains Vitamin C Face Serum, Daily Facial Moisturizer, Gentle Facial Cleanser and Moisturizing Cream, the hero product. Products are priced between $7 for travel-size products and $25 for full-size products.
Founded by two pharmacists in the 1970s, Vanicream’s original fragrance-free Moisturizing Cream launched in 1980. Avoiding common allergens, it prides itself on being the No. 1 recommended brand by dermatologists for sensitive skin. Before Ulta, the brand extended to Walgreens, CVS, Target, Walmart, HEB, Kroger, Wegmans, Publix and Amazon, and it has a strong network of physicians’ offices.
AmLactin
Doubling down on dermatologist-recommended skincare, Ulta has picked up five bestsellers from AmLactin for its site. Known for its assortment of lactic acid-filled skincare and body care products, AmLactin’s Ulta offering features $30 Daily Nourish Lotion, $30 Intensive Healing Cream and $20 Daily Vitamin C Lotion.
Acquired for an undisclosed sum by the pharmaceutical company Sandoz in 2016, AmLactin was previously owned by Upsher-Smith Laboratories. The brand is sold at Target, Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid and on Amazon.
Le Monde Gourmand
Masstige fragrance and body care brand Le Monde Gourmand bowed online and in 700 Ulta stores with eau de parfums, body oils, mists and creams priced from $15 for individual products to $38 for travel-sized discovery sets. Bestselling fragrances Crème Vanille, Chai Épicé and Santal Supreme are included in its Ulta assortment as is an exclusive scent for retailer, Pétale Éphémère.
Launched in 2014, Le Monde Gourmand entered Urban Outfitters as an exclusive the same year. According to the brand’s site, it has sold over 1.5 million units since its debut.
Le Monde Gourmand is owned by Tru Fragrance + Beauty, an incubator that’s created exclusive brands for Free People, American Eagle, Old Navy and Marks & Spencer. Lake & Skye and Undone Beauty are in the company’s portfolio, too. Undone Beauty bowed at 325 Ulta doors and its online assortment in 2021 and expanded to 600 Ulta doors in 2022.
Dolce Glow
Prestige sunless tanning brand Dolce Glow entered over 250 Ulta stores last month. Founded by celebrity spray tan artist Isabel Alysa, who counts Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Lopez and Katy Perry as clients, Dolce Glow’s tanning mousses, mists and serums are priced between $25 for travel-sized products and $50 for full-sized products.
Singer Miley Cyrus invested in the brand last year. Dolce Glow is also carried at Nordstrom, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Revolve.
Liquid I.V.
After launching at select Ulta stores in December, powder hydration brand Liquid I.V. is enlarging its footprint at the retailer to 1,300-plus doors plus dedicated placement within its wellness assortment dubbed The Wellness Shop. The Wellness Shop was established in 2021 with 350 stores and expanded to 1,330 of Ulta’s 1,374 locations last year. Liquid I.V. will have yet another placement in Ulta’s Impulse section of mini and travel-sized products abutting checkouts.
Liquid I.V.’s merchandise at Ulta includes six flavors of powdered electrolyte drink mixes in 3- and 10-count sizes. Prices range from $7 for the 3-count size to $21 for the 10-count size. Acquired by Unilever for an undisclosed sum in 2020, Liquid I.V.’s retail network stretches across CVS, GNC, Rite Aid, Target, Walgreens, Costco and Whole Foods.
This article was updated on Wednesday, April 3 to include Serena Williams’ new makeup brand Wyn Beauty.
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