Sign in
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

If Beauty Is Doing So Great, Why Do Many Indie Beauty Brands Feel Like They're Struggling?

In recent weeks, there's been a deluge of media coverage attempting to decipher why Americans are sour on the United States economy when a slew of economic indicators, including unemployment, gross domestic product growth, job creation, inflation and the stock market, show that it's in decent shape. We decided, for the …
Rachel Brown·December 12, 2023·1 min read
The 30-second read
In recent weeks, there’s been a deluge of media coverage attempting to decipher why Americans are sour on the United States economy when a slew of economic indicators, including unemployment, gross domestic product growth, job creation, inflation and the stock market, show that it’s in decent shape.

We decided, for the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty, we would explore similar beauty industry territory. According to market research firm Circana, prestige and mass beauty sales were up, respectively, 14% and 8% in the year through September. However, indie beauty brands often express concerns about the challenges they face in the current business environment, and several have revealed they’re shuttering, including MŪN, Luxe Botanics, Orosa, BalmLabs, Pleni, Soon Skincare and Elm Rd.

To help explain the disconnect between indie beauty brands’ experiences and the beauty market more generally, we asked 17 consultants and investors the following question: Why do many indie beauty brands seem to be struggling when the beauty industry as a whole is seeing strong growth?

The players

2 mentioned
Brand

AS Beauty

Founded2019
HQNew York, New York, United States
Revenue Range$150M+
Brand

Too Faced

Continue reading
Lilac St. Brings In New CEO As It Eyes $20M In Sales
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Lilac St. Brings In New CEO As It Eyes $20M In Sales
3 min · Emma Sandler
The War In Iran Is Straining Both Beauty Indies And Conglomerates
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The War In Iran Is Straining Both Beauty Indies And Conglomerates
5 min · Taylor Bryant
The Everlane Example: Lessons From The Once-Darling DTC Brand Selling (Out) To Shein
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Everlane Example: Lessons From The Once-Darling DTC Brand Selling (Out) To Shein
2 min · Erica La Sala
NewsBITsDealsEvents