Opens in new windowAs entries are underway for the second annual Business of Beauty Global Awards, the first set of winners from 2024 have continued their growth trajectories with new investors, retailers and international markets.
At The Business of Beauty Global Forum last June, US-based makeup label Fara Homidi Beauty, India-based skincare brand D’you and Australian biotechnology brand Conserving Beauty were the three startups chosen by a panel of industry judges for the first annual Business of Beauty Global Awards. In the nine months since, the honorees have quickly achieved new milestones.
Just yesterday, for example, The Business of Beauty broke the news that cosmetics label Fara Homidi Beauty, which won last year’s Creative Execution Award, has received its first institutional funding from Sandbridge Capital, a firm known for facilitating big beauty exits for the likes of Ilia Beauty and Youth to the People. Melbourne-based beauty startup and Social Impact award winner Conserving Beauty, meanwhile, has dramatically expanded its US business and lined up new retail partners, while Business Innovation award recipient and skincare line D’you has also entered new retailers while pursuing expansion in the UAE.
The awards “landed myself and the other two brands on the map in a different way,” said Homidi. International recognition was a key part of that, as global expansion is top of mind for all three winners.
“Being on that global award stage has really helped garner a lot of interest, which has helped us expand our overseas reach, especially within the US,” said Natassia Nicolao Grace, the founder and chief executive of Conserving Beauty.
Valuable Connections
The recipients agreed that the award has been beneficial for not only international visibility, but in making connections with investors, retailers and executives.
All nine finalists attended The Business of Beauty Global Forum, which provided tangibly impactful networking opportunities. Homidi, for example, had a chance to reconnect with her eventual investor, Sandbridge Capital at the event.
“We had met them previous to that, but we had a really good connection at the award ceremony, and then kept that relationship alive,” she said.
After the event, mentorship sessions with the judges, which were a part of the prize awarded to winners, helped founders change their perspectives on big-picture brand strategies. Grace said that mentorship from jury member Robin Tsai, general partner at VMG Partners, gave her new insights into thinking about brand positioning in the US while speaking with potential retail partners. Shamika Haldipurkar, the founder and chief executive of D’you, said that the mentorship guided her fundraising strategy.
“The advice really helped me plan the next 12 months of our brand scaling journey to effectively chalk out the fundraise plans,” said Haldipurkar, who added that the award garnered interest from international investors.
Continuing Growth Journeys
Selected for their business performance, growth, innovation and creative execution, the winning brands have continued their trajectories in the past year in terms of both cultural impact and sales.
Fara Homidi Beauty, for example, was a trailblazer in the lip contour trend, effectively spurring the creation of a new category in beauty that has become a growing craze on TikTok. The brand has been a part of key cultural moments, including social media shoutouts from athletes like silver-medalist runner Daryll Neita in the 2024 Paris Olympics and, most recently, an appearance on the hit HBO show “The White Lotus.”
D’you, meanwhile, has continued its expansion with new retail partners in India, and has its sights set on global beauty shopping capital Dubai with its UAE expansion planned for 2025.
With a buzzy Isamaya Beauty collaboration and shoutouts from Troye Sivan amid his Sweat Tour publicity with Charli XCX, Conserving Beauty saw significant growth over the past year as it partnered with retailers Mecca and Priceline in Australia and Space NK in the UK. It has boosted its sales by tenfold, driven heavily by US expansion; the US now represents 70 percent of its direct-to-consumer sales.
Future plans for Conserving Beauty include three new product launches in 2025, a packaging refresh, and expanding in the US while maintaining a strong presence in Australia and the UK. The packaging will remain biodegradable, but the design will be updated to align with the brand’s evolving customer needs. With seed funding from a group of investors including Venrex, the brand is preparing to do a Series A round next year to support its US retail strategy, said Grace.
The Business of Beauty Global Awards also offered the winners a uniquely international opportunity with beauty and fashion crossover.
“I work in fashion as a makeup artist, and I work with all these luxury brands,” said Homidi. “For me, [the award] was a huge deal, because it was both audiences that mean the world to me and my business.”
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