This week, I checked in with Piyush Jain, the CEO of Maesa, the beauty industry’s leading mass beauty incubator, to learn about the company’s second Maesa Magic Incubator program. We discussed the strategy behind the initiative, as well as learnings from the inaugural program. Additionally, executive changes at Ilia Beauty, The Inkey List and Estée Lauder Companies; ColourPop taps into Y2K nostalgia with its newest collaboration; and Charli XCX lands a beauty deal.
Mass beauty leader Maesa bets on scar care, curly hair care and clinical skin care in its second Maesa Magic Incubator program
To an outsider, it may seem like every heavy hitter in the beauty industry offers some sort of incubator or accelerator program for emerging brands.
While not entirely new, the majority of these programs were launched or expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic as a response to the widespread dissemination of dismal funding statistics across social media. That is, the vast majority of VC funding goes to brands with at least one male or white founder, while BIPOC founders have received a disproportionately small amount of funding year after year.
To help correct this funding disparity, the beauty industry responded with multi-week programs to help mentor, fund and connect brand founders with the larger industry. For example, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Target and Walmart all offer programs, as do L’Oréal and Unilever, as well as Tower28 and Glossier — and this is just a small snapshot. But without a clear pathway to a return on investment, the longevity of the programs has yet to be seen.
Maesa, the industry’s leading mass beauty incubator, is the latest to expand its program, called the Maesa Magic Incubator, which launched last year with an inaugural cohort of founders. Glossy exclusively spoke with Piyush Jain, the CEO of Maesa, ahead of its cohort announcement on Tuesday and learned that the company’s strategy is focused on purpose, not ROI.
“I’m a strong believer that in the future, only companies and brands that have a purpose will thrive,” Jain told Glossy. “So you can’t just make a great product or a great brand; you actually should be impacting the world around you [if you want to be successful].”
Maesa has been in business for 25 years and has built, launched and scaled mass brands like Kristin Ess Hair, Fine’ry fragrances, Being Frenshe by Ashley Tisdale, Flower Beauty by Drew Barrymore, TPH by Taraji P. Henson and itk Skincare by Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight, amongst others.
This year’s cohort includes three founders: Jadis Montijo, the founder of scar-tape and bandage company Motivo Scar Care; Aziza El Wanni, founder of The Potion Studio textured hair care; and Marsha McBain, founder of Berri-Clear Skincare, which focuses on botanical ingredients to quell hyperpigmentation.
Applicants often find these programs through word-of-mouth or complementary programs. For example, Montijo found the Maesa Magic Incubator through Start Out, a nonprofit that supports LGBTQ+ founders with curated access to resources, expert support, and engagement to accelerate their ideas and businesses.
Jain told Glossy that when selecting its mentees, Maesa’s team looked for applicants with a brand based around an unmet consumer need, a clear vision for the growth of the company and a proven track record of sales that had not yet surpassed $1 million.
“There needs to be a personal element to [the brand story, as well],” Jain told Glossy about the selection process. “Why is this entrepreneur creating this brand in this space? What is the personal story behind it? Because that really leads to the passion behind the brand. The entrepreneurial journey is hard, so you need entrepreneurs who will be resilient, and if it’s personal to you, you’re always going to be resilient.”
Maesa’s program awards its mentees with mentorship, a $35,000 grant, access to the “Future of Commerce and Work” program hosted by Harvard business faculty on-site at Harvard, and a paid trip to Cosmoprof North America Miami in January 2025. The weeks-long program culminates with a pitch deck presentation to an esteemed group of industry leaders like Nyakio Greico, founder of Nyakio Beauty, Thirteen Lune and Relevant; Scott Kestenbaum, managing director at Bain Capital; and Maesa’s executive team and brand leaders, the latter of which include Ashley Tisdale.
“We realized that funding was only part of the issue,” Maesa’s Jain told Glossy. “Mentorship — having someone else who’d been in these shoes and who knows what it takes to create a company — was actually an equally large gap.”
To help, Maesa enlists all parts of its company, which includes in-house creative, production and marketing teams. “[There are] around 100 people in my company who touched the Maesa Magic Incubator program [last cycle], providing ongoing hands-on mentorship, training and functional expertise to [these] entrepreneurs,” Jain said.
Cycle two of the program kicks off this week with learnings from its previous cohort, which included Nikita Charuza, founder of ayurvedic beauty brand Squigs Beauty; Selah Jael, founder of fragrance brand House of Foster; and Keisha Wagner-Gaymon, founder of pre- and post-hair removal skin-care brand Fuzz Clinic. The first cohort wrapped in February of this year.
Jain told Glossy that the curriculum this cycle will be more bespoke, with mentees selecting “majors” and “minors” they hope to explore in-depth, such as finance or integrated marketing.
Maesa’s program stood out to Montijo, founder of Motivo Scar Care, for its small cohort size. “There’s only three of us, which is huge for me, because it really will give all of us the ability to get very specific about what we need for our business, versus a company trying to create a general curriculum for 30 businesses that are all doing different things, you know?” he told Glossy. He hopes to use the $35,000 grant to invest in scar-care clinical studies that will make marketing, as well as future R&D, easier.
Meanwhile, El Wanni, founder of The Potion Studio, hopes to develop her line’s retail strategy, and McBain, founder of Berri-Clear Skincare, hopes to grow her line’s e-commerce presence. She’s also seeking advice on packaging, marketing, R&D and raising capital, the latter of which she’s found to be the most challenging, she told Glossy.
As far as the future, Jain hopes to make the program part of Maesa’s identity.
“We have no desire or plan to acquire these brands at some point in time. Our only [success] metric is that these entrepreneurs are successful in getting to their dreams and that we become part of their journey,” he told Glossy. “In 5-10 years from now, if we have a large cohort of Maesa Magic Incubator [mentees] who talk about their journey and how they’ve become super successful and how the Maesa Magic Incubator contributed to their journey, that would be very fulfilling. And that would absolutely be our dream come true for this program.”
Executive moves:
- Paul Schiraldi is the new CEO of Ilia Beauty, the clean color cosmetics line sold DTC and through Sephora and Credo Beauty. He is replacing Lynda Berkowitz, who led the company for eight years and helped the brand reach $200 million in revenue. She will take on an advisory role at Famille C investment firm, the majority owner of Ilia. Schiraldi was previously the CEO of Unilever’s Murad skin care.
- Mark Curry, co-founder of The Inkey List, has stepped into the role of CEO. The Inkey List is known for its affordable masstige skin care, with most SKUs priced under $20, and sells DTC and at Sephora. He succeeds Stephanie Davis Michelman, who joined as CEO last year from Benefit Cosmetics.
- Estée Lauder Companies North America group president Mark Loomis will be retiring at the end of fiscal year 2025 after three decades with the company. Beginning January 1, Tara Simon will take on the role of president of North America, while Amber English will take on the role of president of digital and online for North America. Simon currently holds the title of global brand president of ELC West Coast brands, while English is ELC’s e-commerce and digital SVP.
News to know:
- ColourPop plans to tap into Y2K nostalgia with a new collaboration with Bratz, the popular dolls that launched in 2001. The line, which will sell DTC on ColourPop’s website starting Thursday, includes kits and single SKUs priced $10-$26. Products include a 15-pan shadow palette, lip color sets, a plumping lip gloss, body glitter and stick-on face gems.
- Perelel Health, a women’s health-focused leader in the clinically proven prenatal and postnatal vitamin space, has acquired Loom, an educational platform focused on sexual wellness and reproductive health, for an undisclosed amount. Perelel was launched in 2020 and has taken on investment from Unilever Ventures.
- Charli XCX, the force behind summer’s widespread “brat girl summer” culture trend, is a new U.S. ambassador of Valentino Beauty. The announcement came the same day the brand launched its new Spike Valentino Buttery Matte Lipsticks, which come in seven shades and retail for $48 each. “I’m kind of really only into working with brands that encourage and amplify individual expression, and that’s obviously something that Valentino Beauty does,” Charli XCX told Glamour UK. The breadth of the partnership has not yet been revealed.
- Shoe- and sandal-maker Birkenstock has entered the beauty game. The company launched a foot-care collection this month to celebrate the company’s 250th anniversary. The collection of products includes foot scrub, balm and lotion, as well as a salt foot soak and medicated cream made for tired legs and feet, all of which will sell DTC for $9.95-$49.95.
- Sofie Pavitt Face, the skin-care range from NYC esthetician Sofie Pavitt, has taken on an undisclosed seed investment from True Beauty Ventures. TBV is a beauty and wellness venture capital firm with investments in 17 beauty and wellness brands including Vacation sun care, Crown Affair hair care and Caliray color cosmetics.
- HRB Brands, which owns mass brands like Alberto VO5 and Zest, has been sold by private equity group Tengram Capital Partners to Italian health and beauty company Sodalis Group. The details of the sale have not been disclosed. Tengram Capital Partners purchased Sodalis Group in 2020.
Stat of the week:
Influencer platform Mavely, which helps creators add shoppable links to earn affiliate revenue, released new study data on Thursday about the effectiveness of reaching Gen-Z consumers with holiday gift recommendations. The firm found that, in the past year, more than a quarter of consumers have purchased a gift based on a recommendation from a creator or influencer. However, when looking at Gen Z specifically, which includes consumers aged 12-27, that number doubles to 52%, showing the continued strength of targeting Gen Z with affiliate marketing this holiday season.
In the headlines:
How apple peel found its way onto our bathroom shelves. Salt & Stone releases limited-edition smoothie with Erewhon. A standout show and a fragrance launch: What’s next for Bottega Veneta? Beauty Industry vet Leah Hundsness is out to make Maxine’s Revenge the ultimate aspirational Gen-X brand. How hyperfocus helped Captain Blankenship enter Erewhon.
Listen in:
Sukeena Rao, co-founder of the London-based personal shopping firm Luminaire, joins the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss today’s luxury shopper and the growing role of beauty and wellness in reaching the “VIC.”
Need a Glossy recap?
With her new brand, Lili Reinhart wants to start the conversation about acne. ‘Health is wealth’ for a growing number of affluent Americans investing thousands on scans and supplements. Have we hit peak wellness spa? On the heels of its Katie Fang campaign, Cetaphil gets a brand refresh. ‘I don’t look at any fragrance brands’: Vyrao founder Yasmin Sewell on staying ahead of the wellness fragrance curve. Dr. Squatch taps Sydney Sweeney to announce new category expansion. Stay golden: The new era of luxury tanning. How Wavytalk became the official hair-tool sponsor of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet Tour. Credo Beauty branches into home decor with candles. From bespoke perfumes to custom private jet scents, the most luxurious fragrances can’t be bought in stores.
