NEW YORK, United States — There has arguably never been a better time to be a beauty founder. For more established players, we’ve seen a few sizable exits on the haircare side, including Sundial Brands/Shea Moisture (sold to Unilever in 2017), Carol’s Daughter (sold to L’Oreal in 2014), Mielle Organics (sold to P&G Beauty in 2023),  and Briogeo (sold to Wella in 2022)  to name a few.

However, the same has yet to be seen within skincare and color cosmetics brands led by diaspora founders. A somewhat improved funding landscape as evidenced by emerging brands BREAD Beauty Supply and Topicals may be signs of good momentum to come as we head into 2024.

This week, we look back on a conversation in New York hosted by esthetician Sean Garette last fall, with fellow industry upstarts Dr. Chaneve Jenniton of epi.logic, Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye of Ami Cole, and Desiree Verdejo of Hyper Skin — all three brands launched in 2019 and have taken anywhere from zero to millions of dollars in venture funding — here’s a taste of the dialogue.

ON RAISING CAPITAL

N’Diaye-Mbaye: “In the very beginning, it was trying to convince people —customers and investors — that we deserved to exist. I have heard it all. During CoVID, everyone was pitching online as there were no in-person meetings. I would be sitting on Zoom all day with literally 150 investor meetings and by meeting 53, someone would say ‘maybe.’

We would be explaining the difference between [Ami Cole] and Fenty Beauty, Pat McGrath Labs, Fashion Fair Cosmetics, and Mented Cosmetics at the time. Debunking the myth that we look like one thing and we want one thing was a challenge.”

ON SECURING RETAIL

Verdejo: “Four years in, we are in Sephora, but there is still so much to learn. After being D2C for three years and figuring out those metrics, learning big box retail was a whole new beast that required new talent on our team, more money, and tweaking our packaging.

We have a great partnership with Sephora. They love indie brands and seeing them grow. At the same time, the success of your brand is based on how [the buying teams] see your brand, if they understand it, and if they know how to promote it. How do they mention your brand in emails? Do they gift your products to social media influencers?

On the flip side, it is always important to mention how much [retailers] expect of you — they want samples, testers, and a certain level of traffic to your product page. There is so much required and once you go into stores, [the requirements] only increase.”

ON FORMULATING WITH MELANIN IN MIND

Jenniton: “I’m interested in breaking down the walls in the clinical [category]. Clinical has always felt exclusionary and cold. It begs the question of who is this for. When we were doing clinical trials for our products, I was writing little notes in the margins [stating] ‘darker skin tones must be represented.’ The clinical testing center replied that they couldn’t run the tests as they did not have access to darker skin tones. It gave me pause. How do we create clinical standards that are more inclusive? How can I take it [beyond] what is in the product?”

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Lead Image epi.logic.