Expert Dialogue
Allison Kent-Gunn Breaks Down 8 Big Packaging Shifts In The Age Of Tariffs And Sustainability Realism
On social media, Allison Kent-Gunn, aka Allison Turquoise, is an ebullient translator of packaging from people’s favorite beauty brands. She informs her 90,000-plus fans that Summer Fridays’ squishy applicator is made from thermoplastic...
Why CVS Isn’t Trying To Launch Beauty Brands First
While other retailers race to tie the hottest beauty brands up with exclusivity arrangements, CVS has a different philosophy. For the country’s largest drugstore chain, it’s OK to be second (or...
Why This Founder Walked Away From Large-Scale Retail Distribution—And What She’d Do Differently
When founder Suzanne Sinatra saw her brand Private Packs for the last time at CVS, she wasn’t disappointed. “I did not think that I would be this happy that we’re leaving retail, but I’m looking forward to...
The Forever Brand Test: What Beauty Investors Really Want Now
One message was clear at Beauty Independent’s 2025 Dealmaker Summit last week in New York City: the bar for beauty brand investment has never been higher. From skincare to scalp...
Can Haircare Keep Its Big Mo?
Haircare is on the up and up. Sales in the category grew 6.6% last year to $21.7 billion, according to market research firm Circana. And Greg Starkman, co-founder of haircare brand Innersense...
Why Beauty M&A Isn’t Returning To Peak Form Anytime Soon
The one-two punch of the billion-dollar Rhode and Medik8 deals in the space of less than a month has the beauty industry atwitter, but it doesn’t necessarily portend an upcoming flurry of...
