Let’s face it: 2020 has been a doozy. Given the big wave of indie beauty brand acquisitions that took place in Q4 2019, and the unforeseen economic volatility following the coronavirus pandemic, it’s not so surprising that indie beauty investment chatter slowed down in Q1. However, several up-and-coming indie brands—many of which have mission statements centered around affordability or sustainability—continued to make their mark in the beauty community and power notable Earned Media Value (EMV). In our Q1 2020 Indie Beauty Debrief, we investigated the first-quarter performance of six fast-growing indie brands across cosmetics, skincare, and haircare: Tati Beauty, Kaja Beauty, Good Molecules, Sweet Chef, Eva NYC, and Fekkai.
Here’s a sneak peek into some of those brands, but be sure to check out the full report to get all the details.
Tati Beauty, the cruelty-free beauty brand founded by YouTube maven and product review queen Tati Westbrook in October 2019, impressively sustained its launch hype into the new year. The brand netted $10.3M EMV in Q1, a 6% quarter-over-quarter EMV boost. While Tati Beauty made a splash in Q4 with it’s debut product, the Textured Neutrals Vol 1 eyeshadow palette, the brand sparked influencer content creation in January by introducing The Blendiful—a versatile makeup applicator puff. Beauty bloggers raced to test the new offering, which earned mostly positive reviews and quickly overtook the eyeshadow palette to become the brand’s top product.
Good Molecules, the 2019-launched affordable skincare line offering a range of “simple, yet effective” products (that are often compared to The Ordinary), took the beauty community by storm in Q1: the brand exhibited an impressive 117% quarter-over-quarter EMV surge, closing Q1 with $11.5M EMV. Good Molecules stoked influencer excitement by releasing multiple products this quarter, including the Caffeine Energizing Hydrogel Eye Patches in February and the Pineapple Exfoliating Powder in March. However, the brand’s November-launched Silicone-Free Priming Moisturizer proved its hero product, accounting for 47% of Good Molecules’ Q1 EMV.
With its vibrantly colored packaging and cruelty-free mission statement, it’s no wonder that influencers love showing off their favorite Eva NYC products on Instagram. In Q1, the affordable haircare brand garnered $2.3M EMV, an 8% quarter-over-quarter boost, after featuring widely in bloggers’ organic #HairTutorial content: the hashtag ranked as Eva NYC’s No. 2 tag in Q1, behind #EvaNYC. The brand launched the Deeptox Exfoliating Salt Shampoo in February, though influencers favored Eva NYC’s multitasking Mane Magic 10-in-1 Primer, which emerged as the brand’s top-earning Q1 product.
To learn more about all six indie brands’ influencer strategies, community stats, and EMV trajectory from Q1 2019 to Q1 2020, download our Q1 U.S. Indie Beauty Debrief.