ing brand builders. Catching up with indie powerhouses One of the first panels of the day began with some of the beauty industry’s most noteworthy rising players: Shai Eisenman, founder and CEO of Bubble; Carolina Reis de Oliveira, co-founder and CEO of OneSkin; and Jeff Lee, co-founder and CEO of DIBS Beauty. During the discussion, these brand founders shared their strategies for scaling their businesses and what retailers need to keep in mind to maintain momentum. For Eisenman, who recently crossed over $500 million in retail sales with Bubble, the key to brand building lies in community. “Our community was the heart of the brand’s conception, as it remains today,” Eisenman said. “More than 100,000 brand ambassadors have helped us shape the brand and have helped choose everything from the brand’s name to packaging and formulations. They have also really helped us think through retail strategies.” For example, Eisenman noted that the brand’s choice to partner with Walmart as its first wholesale retailer was not the most obvious option. However, this decision ultimately proved beneficial, helping Bubble expand into more than 4,000 doors just eight months after launch. Today, Bubble’s ambassador and social media community continue to guide the brand’s decisions, from product pricing to development. For DIBS Beauty, a brand co-founded by Lee and Courtney Shields, a social media influencer with a one million-plus following, a deep understanding of a brand’s community and consumer base is essential not only for creating momentum but also for maintaining it. Lee explained that one important way to understand the consumer base is by analysing how shoppers engage with the brand within a specific retailer. He added that from day one, it was important for DIBS Beauty to find a retail partner that would not only highlight the brand’s strengths but also identify its weaknesses, which ultimately led the brand to Ulta Beauty. “We had a very clear idea of the kind of partner we were looking for,” Lee said, “and that was a thought partner, someone capable of telling us very specifically what the deficiencies are in how you’re marketing, specifically which product white spaces you should be going for. Thinking through the challenges of retail, one of the key points for us was understanding the specific nature of those challenges.” Lee, who has driven to almost 500 Ulta Beauty locations in all 50 states, recalled arriving at 7am not only to receive a store report but also to spend 8–10 hours in-store interacting with customers and observing how they engage with the brand. “The point of it is that when you drill down to that level of detail,” he added, “you can survive and thrive in what is a very dominating retailer within over 1,500 [Ulta Beauty] doors.” Scaling when discovery, retail and channels collide In today’s digitally centred world, brands strive to meet customers wherever they shop. However, if the focus remains solely on the purchase moment, brands risk missing the crucial path that leads to that decision. A panel led by Janna Mandell included Rina Yashayeva (Front Row), Reuben Carranza (Banks Beauty), and Genevieve Head-Gordon (Ouai). They discussed what works in omnichannel, trade-offs, and how to connect distribution to actual consumer decisions. In theory, it is beneficial for a brand to partner with as many retailers as possible to reach consumers across different touchpoints. In reality, however, retailers can face significant risks by partnering with the wrong channel or by failing to understand how to interact with it effectively, potentially diminishing their own value or creating a disconnected shopping experience. “Many brands operate through multiple channels,” Mandell said, “but that does not necessarily mean they are delivering a cohesive omnichannel experience. Presence alone does not guarantee alignment.” To illustrate this, Carranza, who oversees multiple brands including Amika and Eva NYC, pointed to TikTok Shop, which is often an attractive channel for customers seeking the best deal. While TikTok Shop is a strong discovery platform, he noted that it can make it difficult for a brand to maintain its value proposition and sell products at a higher price point if shoppers perceive the brand’s ecosystem as disconnected. Head-Gordon emphasised the importance of controlling how a brand appears across channels. For Ouai, this means leaning into tightly controlled promotions, such as TikTok-exclusive packages or less price-sensitive items like travel sets, enabling growth without cannibalising sales from other channels or diluting the brand’s image. Carranza and Yashayeva also stressed the importance of knowing when to partner with another brand or retailer. Yashayeva explained that newer brands can become overly eager when approached by a major retailer, only to realise months later that the decision was premature. Carranza noted that before investing in a new retail channel, brands must understand what is already working and assess whether they are financially and operationally ready to expand. “You have to have a position of strength where you understand what works with the brand,” Carranza said. “Asking oneself questions like, ‘What are the investments that deliver the right ROI?’ and ‘Do I have stability in terms of the revenue stream and the profitability before I have to go co-invest with my other partner on entering into a new market and creating a new dynamic with my [current] retailer?’” he added. Further reading: Inside Sukoshi’s plan to launch 40 stores in the US by the end of 2026