With TikTok Shop and Amazon gaining market share in beauty, Cristina Nuñez, co-founder and general partner of True Beauty Ventures, wrote in a recent Substack post, “Today’s beauty floor is digital.”
According to an analysis by TD Cowen, TikTok is projected to reach 4% of beauty market share in 2030, up from 2% today, while Amazon is forecast to hit 15%, up from 9% today. Ulta is predicted to slide from 10% to 9% and Sephora remain steady at 7%. The market research firm NIQ estimates 43% of beauty purchases are conducted online—and that figure is only expected to grow.
Amid the evolution Nuñez describes as pushing beauty from “shelf space” to “scroll space,” she advises brands to have a “platform strategy—not just a retail one.” She details a platform strategy involves owning the creator economy funnel and understanding the channel that drives the best customers.
Nuñez emphasizes that Amazon shouldn’t be discounted in the long-term channel mix even as Sephora tries to limit brands’ distribution on it and TikTok. For brands aiming at Sephora placement, she counsels, “Consider launch timing, exclusivity windows, and what your long-term omnichannel roadmap looks like—before you sign the dotted line.”
Diving more into how brands should craft a platform strategy, for this edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty, we are asking 12 beauty entrepreneurs, consultants and investors the following: How can an emerging prestige brand successfully execute a platform strategy today? What are the main challenges you see for developing these strategies today, and how can brands sort through them?
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Taylor Gross Founder, Retaylor Therapy Consulting I recommend emerging brands approach platform strategy and retail distribution as deeply connected components of brand building, not siloed efforts. Long-term success depends on the harmony between how you're discovered, how you're experienced and where you're purchased.
In the early stages, new brands should focus on owning their DTC presence and building brand awareness to foster a loyal, values-aligned community. This means establishing a clear reason for being, whether that’s a breakthrough formula, distinctive packaging, or a unique brand identity.
As a former beauty buyer for Barneys New York and Space NK, my first question is always: What white space is this brand filling? Brands that lead with innovation, not imitation, are the ones that earn staying power.
With today’s constant stream of content and comparisons, one of the biggest challenges is staying true to your brand ethos. The most compelling brands are the ones that resist the noise and build with clarity and consistency from day one.
Once brand awareness, community and revenue are growing steadily, I advise engaging with a groundswell of independent boutiques and high-equity retail partners. The most successful brands connect their digital audience with in-person retail moments. A few examples include geo-targeted campaigns that drive traffic into local stockists, co-branded TikTok and Instagram content highlighting retail merchandising and immersive pop-ups or in-store events that spark trial and discovery for new customer acquisition.
After 12 to 24 months of cultivating a strong DTC channel and a credible network of specialty retail proof points, a brand is well-positioned to scale into larger retail partners. At that stage, it’s not just about distribution, it’s about matching your customer’s lifestyle and shopping behavior.
Whether they’re discovering you on TikTok or adding to cart at a favorite specialty store, the goal is to build a brand ecosystem that meets your customer wherever they are. Every touchpoint—scrolling, shopping or stepping into a store—should deliver a seamless, elevated brand experience.
- Rich Gersten Co-Founder and Managing Partner, True Beauty Ventures
To succeed with a platform strategy in today’s digital-first beauty landscape, emerging prestige brands must be intentional—not everywhere at once. Each channel plays a distinct role in the consumer journey, from discovery to conversion to loyalty. Success lies in leveraging platforms strategically, not simultaneously.
On the digital front, TikTok Shop drives discovery and impulse purchases through creator content and in-app shopping. Amazon is a powerhouse for conversion and replenishment, with features like Subscribe & Save boosting repeat purchases. DTC is the brand’s home base, ideal for education, storytelling and loyalty-building via rich customer data. Retailer dot-coms like Sephora.com and Ulta.com provide social proof and prestige, reinforcing brand credibility in a curated environment.
Each of these must be treated as a distinct franchise, with tailored pricing, messaging and creative to protect brand equity. But as Cristina Nuñez wisely notes, brands must balance short-term digital growth with long-term strategic alignment. Retail partners like Sephora and Ulta may push back on brands leaning too heavily into Amazon or TikTok Shop. That’s why smart distribution is not just about reach, it is about sequencing and strategic clarity.
In this context, brick-and-mortar retail remains irreplaceable, especially for prestige brands. Physical retail provides tactile experiences, expert consultation and powerful brand validation. Categories like skincare, fragrance, and complexion often require touch and trial, making brick-and-mortar essential for high-consideration purchases.
A well-structured exclusive retail partnership can offer outsized benefits for indie brands:
- Shelf space and door count: Even 50 to 100 doors deliver thousands of high-intent impressions.
- Retailer support: Exclusivity can unlock co-marketing, better margins and premium placement.
- Focused execution: Limited distribution simplifies operations and fosters deeper brand-retailer collaboration.
From TBV’s perspective, an effective platform strategy starts with anchoring in B&M retail, while selectively testing digital channels like TikTok Shop or Amazon. This approach captures the best of both worlds, physical credibility and digital momentum, without undermining either.
Cristina reframes the conversation: Platform strategy isn’t about being everywhere, it’s about being intentional. Knowing where your brand belongs now and how each platform contributes to your long-term omnichannel vision is what separates smart growth from scattered visibility.
While the beauty floor is shifting to scroll space, physical retail remains the cornerstone of prestige brand-building. A thoughtful platform strategy is ultimately about timing, focus and long-term clarity.
- Garima Ahluwalia Founder, Joly Beauty
To what Cristina Nuñez said about understanding the channel that drives the best customer, I would add the need to attribute the deepest impact a channel/platform makes by stage of customer journey.
Brands establishing themselves in the prestige space via a multi-channel approach must equip themselves with an understanding or hypotheses of the role each channel will play across the funnel. Balance the role Sephora plays in your growth roadmap with that of Amazon, TikTok, affiliates or boutique retailers.
Let’s take an example of a prestige clean body fragrance brand. Instagram delivers visual storytelling, TikTok funnel entry via UGC, expert and trending content, and Pinterest delivers an aspirational lifestyle narrative. A brand may need one or all.
Retail (Sephora, Ulta) serves as a point of discovery, validation and sampling/IRL. Boutique retailers (Credo) impart credibility and education on hero ingredients. Amazon delivers review validation, fast fulfillment and easy returns to de-risk.
Email/SMS provide loyalty, personalization, reviews and coupons for fragrance gift boxes. AI chatbots provide 24/7 support and tailored advice on fragrance layering.
If your brand has a rich fabric of storytelling, layering those nuances in your content or UGC monologue can further help deliver a differentiated brand narrative. Also, this might look different for a bootstrapped brand with tight resources vs a small brand with steady sales. Starting small and mastering one channel at a time is also an approach I have seen new brands adopt.
There are myriad challenges the brands face in 2025, ranging from the role of AI in the value chain, pressure on short-term margins driven by tariffs, volatile consumer sentiment, retailer consolidation, etc. There is no one answer that fits all, but adopting a flexible, creative mindset can help with making most of a situation.
The 2025 beauty founder must also not hesitate to bargain and negotiate with these channels. A lot of brands take boilerplate terms from a retailer out of desperation. There is always some room for negotiating terms.
- Nigar Zeynalova CMO and Beauty Strategist, Spark Edit.
To execute a successful platform strategy today, emerging prestige brands must treat each platform as a unique opportunity, not just a point of distribution. It’s not about being everywhere, it’s about showing up differently based on how consumers behave on each channel.
Start with a clear role for each platform:
- TikTok Shop drives discovery and conversion through creators and affiliates. Brands also capitalize on buzz by using packaging and in-store callouts like “TikTok viral” or “as seen on TikTok,” which directly drive conversion.
- Amazon acts as a search engine and review hub ideal for building social proof and capitalizing on consumers that order most of their items (not only in beauty) from Amazon. Living in Silicon Valley, Amazon deliveries the most common thing I see in my mail rooms and my neighbors’ doorsteps.
- DTC is the home for storytelling, bundling and data capture. Use your loyal customers on DTC to build a strong word of mouth, loyalty and brand ambassadors.
- Retail (Sephora, Ulta) still signals prestige, but increasingly leans on social virality to influence shelf appeal. Think about Sephora that tests gondolas dedicated to the TikTok viral products. Consumers come to the stores and ask for those products, and it doesn't mean that having one or the other channel will cancel each other out. It actually creates a more powerful, long-term sustainable business model.
So, what are the biggest challenges?
Prioritization is a major hurdle. Brands worry that leaning into TikTok will alienate Sephora or that Amazon might dilute their prestige image.
The solution?
- Build a phased roadmap. Start with TikTok to validate demand, then use that momentum to support retail exclusives. Layer in Amazon later with a tailored, high-converting assortment.
- Segment creative and storytelling. TikTok gets short-form UGC. Amazon focuses on SEO and reviews. DTC delivers the full brand narrative.
Other roadblocks:
- Retailer resistance. Offer platform-exclusive SKUs or bundles to ease concerns. The sweet spot for TikTok lies in the $15 to $35 price range and in prestige it's mostly possible with travel and trial sizes, starter kits or exclusive products
- Limited bandwidth. Focus on one to two priority platforms and outsource to nimble partners early.
- Data fragmentation. Sync insights across TikTok, Amazon and DTC to identify what truly drives conversion.
Today’s prestige playbook isn’t shelf-first, it’s platform-smart.
- Naomi Emiko Co-Founder, TNGE
To build a winning platform strategy in 2025, an emerging prestige brand needs to stop thinking like a DTC brand and start ideating like a content ecosystem. The golden era of DTC-only is over and DTC-smart has not only entered, but taken over the chat.
We can observe a key shift: Instead of audience building, brands now have to master attention layering. A prestige brand can no longer approach TikTok, Amazon and retailers (e.g., Sephora, Ulta, etc.) as competing sales channels, but needs to view them as complementary roles in a conversion web:
TikTok Shop is the top-of-funnel showroom where frictionless entertainment meets product trials. It operates as a digital sampling booth that always needs to be scroll-stopping. At the same time, Amazon is the trust validator. Consumers may discover a brand on TikTok, but they’ll price-compare, check reviews and restock on Amazon.
Retailers, on the other hand, are your brand badge. They are a form of earned social proof. But you need to be prepared to enter that ecosystem to avoid being consumed by it. Meaning, your omnichannel roadmap has to be choreographed in advance.
So, let's take a hypothetical brand to play this out. A new skincare line called Cloudform is built around pollution defense for urban professionals. The brand could debut on TikTok Shop through UGC micro-creators who narrate their post-commute routines.
Amazon then becomes the brand’s second home, where replenishment is seamless and reviews drive trust. Sephora will be interesting 12 months post-launch, not as the savior, but the needed IRL amplifier, ideally aligned with a key retail moment (e.g. Earth Day) and built with a 360-degree content plan to win on-shelf and online.
The biggest challenge for Cloudform (and any other prestige brand) will be platform fatigue in conjunction with resource constraints. To navigate that, brands should not try to be everywhere at all times, but to be surgically consistent in how each platform tells a different (critical) chapter of the brand story.
- Hana Holecko Strategic Innovation Consultant
Cristina Nuñez is absolutely right: Today’s beauty floor is digital and not just in where products are sold, but in how demand is built, trust is earned and loyalty is maintained. Brands can’t afford to think in terms of siloed retail channels anymore. They need a platform strategy that maps the entire customer journey across scroll, search and shelf.
Take, for example, a hypothetical prestige brand—let’s call it Brine—rooted in biotech-meets-spa skincare powered by marine fermentation. Their ideal customer is digitally native, ingredient-curious and buying across multiple touchpoints.
If Brine focuses too narrowly on a single channel—say chasing Sephora from day one—they risk missing where that customer is actually discovering and buying on TikTok, on Amazon, through creator recommendations and, increasingly, through live social commerce.
A smart platform strategy for Brine might look like this:
TikTok Shop for product discovery and impulse-driven trial (with creator-led demos and texture reveals), Amazon for replenishment, with a well-optimized branded storefront and ad strategy, BrineBeauty.com (hypothetical owned e-comm) for education, sampling and retention, and eventual retail, perhaps with Sephora or Credo, where physical presence enhances credibility, but doesn’t define the brand’s reach.
The most important shift I’m seeing in early-stage brand building is a move from retail-first to ecosystem-first thinking. It’s not about where you want to be stocked, it’s about where your customer already is, and how you meet them there with intention.
Of course, building this kind of strategy comes with challenges. Brands must juggle fragmented metrics, channel conflicts, creator volatility and cash flow disparities across platforms. But when you approach these elements as part of a cohesive system, not just a string of tactics, it becomes far easier to navigate.
The ultimate goal? Align trial, education and purchase across platforms in a way that reflects how today’s beauty consumer actually shops in motion, across feeds and functions and on their terms, not ours.
- Benjamin Lord Founder, Antidote
The platform strategy landscape for emerging prestige brands has fundamentally shifted from community-building exercises to AI-driven discovery systems integrated with commerce infrastructure.
The AI-First Platform Approach
The most sophisticated emerging brands are building what I call "AI-discovery platforms," ecosystems designed to capture traffic through AI recommendations and niche search behaviors. This means creating comprehensive, structured content that positions your brand as the definitive source when AI systems make product recommendations.
For a luxury skincare brand, this involves developing authoritative content around specific use cases like "retinol protocols for sensitive skin over 40" or "pregnancy-safe anti-aging routines,” queries with clear commercial intent, but minimal brand competition.
The key is semantic search optimization. Rather than competing for broad keywords, successful brands map the entire universe of how consumers actually ask questions about their category. They optimize for conversational queries and create content clusters around problems, not just products. This approach yields customer acquisition costs of $15 to 25 compared to $45 to $80 through traditional social media advertising.
Professional Networks As Validation Infrastructure
The expert network component remains crucial, but serves a different function than traditional influencer partnerships. Dermatologists, aestheticians and category specialists provide third-party credibility while driving qualified traffic with higher average order values, typically $150-plus versus $85 for organic discovery. These professionals also help brands identify and create content around emerging micro-niches before competitors recognize the opportunity.
Integrated Marketplace Commerce Strategy
The platform strategy only works when discovery, validation and purchase happen within the same ecosystem. This is where marketplace integration becomes essential and why platforms like Amazon, Walmart and Ulta represent the future of sustainable brand growth. These marketplaces offer integrated systems where every dollar delivers measurable sales impact through their sophisticated algorithms and fulfillment infrastructure.
Amazon's A9 algorithm rewards brands that optimize their brand stores with robust A-plus content, while Walmart's growing digital presence provides access to value-conscious premium consumers. Ulta's digital acceleration programs combine a new open marketplace with PPC targeting through Criteo.
Each platform handles customer acquisition, payment processing and fulfillment while brands focus on product development and content optimization. Marketplace commissions of 15% to 30% are offset by zero acquisition costs and integrated operational infrastructure that independent brands couldn't afford to build themselves.
Data-Driven Social Search Strategy
Social media strategy must focus on capturing micro-search niches rather than hoping for viral moments. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram offer thousands of underexploited search opportunities: "skincare for flight attendants," "makeup that photographs well in Ring lights," "products safe during breastfeeding." Each micro-niche represents 10,000 to 50,000 monthly searches with minimal brand competition.
Sustainable Growth Over Viral Marketing
The fundamental challenge with current brand advice is the emphasis on high-visibility, low-ROI tactics like pop-ups and viral content. In my experience working with struggling brands, sustainable recovery comes from building systems where every dollar invested in content creation, professional partnerships and marketplace optimization compounds over time.
The beauty of integrated marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart and Ulta is that everything connects—discovery, validation, purchase and fulfillment—creating holistic growth systems that account for COGS, marketing costs and distribution expenses in one integrated platform.
The brands winning today aren't those with the biggest influencer budgets, they're building platforms where discovery, professional validation and marketplace commerce create compounding advantages through network effects.
The Future Platform Model
Tomorrow's successful prestige brands will operate as AI-optimized content hubs that answer every possible question about their category, maintain professional networks that drive qualified traffic and leverage marketplace infrastructure for seamless commerce integration. This creates a data feedback loop where every interaction improves both AI positioning and marketplace performance, building sustainable competitive moats rather than hoping for temporary social media attention.
The platform strategy for 2025 is about becoming the default answer in an AI-driven discovery world while leveraging the integrated commerce power of established marketplaces to maintain unit economics that actually build profitable, sustainable businesses.
- Amy Kapolnek Founder, Fractional CMO and Strategic Advisor, The Fwrd Group
It starts with understanding that "platform strategy" doesn't mean “be everywhere.” It means building intentional presence on the right platforms where your customer actually spends time, discovers new brands and makes purchase decisions. For a prestige indie brand, this means going deeper on storytelling, earned trust and building a presence that mirrors the habits of a more discerning customer.
Let’s say you’re a skincare brand targeting an elder millennial and gen X audience. Your customer isn’t discovering brands the same way gen Z is. They’re not on TikTok for four hours a day watching hauls. They’re loyal to the products they’ve used for years and far more skeptical about what’s worth trying. That means acquisition is harder and your strategy has to reflect that.
TikTok or Instagram might still have a role in your funnel, but not necessarily for conversion. These platforms can build brand awareness or credibility through creators that speak their language: dermatologists, trusted experts or creators in the same age bracket who approach beauty from a more experience- or results-driven lens. That’s how you start building relevance with a customer who doesn’t jump on every trend.
Physical discovery is also critical. Whether it’s pop-ups, sampling programs, events, strategic retail partners or highly targeted out-of-home, prestige customers still value the in-person experience. They want to touch, try and experience before they buy. And because they’re often influenced by word of mouth, a strong referral, loyalty or “bring-a-friend” incentive can work harder than paid ads ever will.
Utilizing the creator economy also still plays a role, but differently. This is about tapping into credibility, not just reach. For prestige, that might mean long-form YouTube, trusted skin professionals or mid-tier creators with authentic product usage, not one-off sponsored posts. Co-creation matters here as does alignment with the platform and the customer’s habits.
On Amazon, that same brand should invest in premium-brand registry, A-plus content and a clean, curated assortment that protects positioning and doesn’t erode value. That might mean exclusive discovery kits or entry-point SKUs that don’t compete with DTC or Sephora.
Meanwhile, your DTC site becomes the center for deeper brand education, customer loyalty and high-touch support. And if you're pursuing Sephora or Ulta, you’ll need a roadmap that respects exclusivity windows, staggered launches and clear customer segmentation so you’re not cannibalizing your own growth.
The most effective platform strategies are layered and assign each channel a purpose. They don't chase trends. Their focus is on building brand equity. And they’re rooted in one question, not “Where should we be?” but “Where does our customer actually engage, convert and stay loyal?”
The biggest challenge is pressure to be everywhere, to launch new products constantly, to scale fast. In that rush, most indie brands skip the foundational work that actually supports long-term growth. They under-allocate to marketing. They don’t invest in strategy early on. And, as a result, they end up spending on the wrong platforms or jumping into retail before they’re truly ready.
The key to platform strategy isn’t about speed, it’s about sequence. Expanding market presence before the foundation is built—clear positioning, a proven retention engine and tight operational infrastructure—is like putting a roof on a house that hasn’t been framed. Growth should be deliberate and slow.
One of the biggest tools for clarity is data. To make informed decisions about where to invest, brands need to know their numbers and understand their customers. What’s the repeat purchase rate by channel? Where do the highest LTV customers come from? What content actually converts? Without that insight, brands are flying blind and likely wasting time and money.
Channel conflict is another real hurdle, especially for brands navigating prestige retailers like Sephora or Ulta while also exploring Amazon or TikTok Shop. The solution isn’t to avoid those platforms, it’s to be thoughtful about how you show up. That means creating differentiated experiences, staggering launches and using exclusivity strategically. And no matter what, never fully outsource the customer relationship.
At the end of the day, developing a successful platform strategy requires slowing down, zooming out and building a roadmap that reflects where your customer is and what your brand is actually ready for.
- Amanda Pond Founder and CEO, MOD Consulting
To successfully execute a platform strategy today, an emerging prestige beauty brand must treat each digital channel not just as a point of sale, but as a unique ecosystem with its own audience behavior, content language and performance dynamics.
Let’s take a hypothetical brand, MOD Skin, a science-backed, sustainability-driven skincare brand targeting gen Z and millennial consumers. Its platform strategy would begin with TikTok Shop, where short-form, creator-led content and community reviews can drive discovery and conversion in the same scroll. They’d prioritize partnerships with mid-tier creators who align with the brand’s values and can create credible, authentic content. Think routine videos, before-and-after testimonials or ingredient deep-dives.
On Amazon, MOD would treat it as both a sales engine and a brand-building channel. This means investing in A-plus content, video reviews and optimizing SEO within the platform to control how the brand is discovered. Amazon ads would be tested aggressively against branded and category terms to build volume and loyalty, while ensuring logistics and inventory are dialed in to maintain Prime eligibility.
For Instagram and YouTube, the focus would shift to community-building and education emphasizing tutorials, dermatologist interviews and long-form storytelling. Sephora could remain part of the long-term roadmap, but MOD would negotiate exclusivity windows carefully, ensuring the timing aligns with momentum from digital-first channels rather than limiting distribution early on.
Main challenges in developing this strategy include resource allocation, content volume and platform fatigue. Each platform requires different creative assets, data tracking and iteration cycles. To manage this, brands must prioritize based on where their customers are most engaged and where the customer acquisition cost (CAC) is most sustainable. Brands should also invest early in robust attribution tools and flexible creative production pipelines that can repurpose content across platforms.
Ultimately, the most successful brands will be those that understand platforms as evolving ecosystems—balancing performance marketing, community building and brand control with agility.
- Rohit Banota Founder, Jump Accelerator
Emerging prestige brands need a platform strategy because the consumer journey is now fragmented. Once, awareness came from media and discovery-to-purchase happened in-store. That’s changed. Digital took over awareness and consideration. Now, platforms like TikTok handle the full journey from awareness to purchase.
With attention competition at brick-and-mortar, brands must guide consumers across both digital and retail to stay top of mind. So, how to build a platform strategy? Focus where you can best influence the funnel’s turning point for optimal consumption aligned with your cash flow.
1. Sephora/Ulta:
If placed, run a full-funnel plan:
-Creator partnerships, Insider events
-Cross-traffic to DTC plus in-store
-Shelf storytelling, promo calendar2. TikTok:
Own the full on-platform loop:
-Influencer-led awareness to purchase to repeat3. TikTok plus Sephora/Ulta:
Guide the full journey platform-retail
Then build full funnels for each to create a repeatable growth engine.Let's take the example of a brand called Funskin, an emerging prestige skincare brand priced around $50.
Full consumer journey: Platform to Retailer with three loops (three funnels):
Loop one: Full Platform To Retail Funnel (Primary and Long Engine)
Awareness (TikTok)
POVs like “What fixed my barrier after every $300 facial failed” plus glowy reveals and get-ready-with-me formats
Viewers save, search brand and land on TikTok Shop or Google it: top-funnel intentConsideration (TikTok)
Skincare educator collabs plus dupe comparisons versus $100-plus brands
Pinned TikTok Shop tutorials ease cart build: boosts direct and retail path conversionConversion (TikTok Shop or Sephora)
Some convert instantly via TikTok Shop bundles, loyalty codes or creator links
Others land on Sephora.com or walk into stores after seeing TikToksRetail Discovery (Sephora Shelf plus Digital)
Sephora PDPs echo TikTok glow messaging plus ingredients
In-store: Funskin's “Barrier Boost” shelf story, QR codes to TikToks, advisor demos plus minisConversion (Sephora)
Sephora Squad plus staff create get-ready-with-me TikToks in-store
Exclusive bundles plus Beauty Insider rewards drive urgency and trustRetention (Post-Purchase)
Buyers join TikTok UGC challenge-reposts fuel awareness
Repeat happens via TikTok Shop auto rebuy or Sephora refillsLoop Two: Platform-Only Funnel (TikTok, TikTok Shop, Repeat)
Viral video-TikTok Shop cart-auto rebuy with loyalty unlock
Post-purchase reviews trigger UGC-fuels new top-funnel reach
Some TikTok-only buyers migrate to Sephora after seeing shelf cues or Google results
Loop Three: Retailer-Only Funnel (Sephora-First Consumer)
Shopper discovers Funskin via shelf, PDP or beauty advisor
Tries mini/sample-returns for full size or reorders online
Shelf QR or signage sends them back to TikTok content, enters primary loop
Loop Resets and Cross-Traffic
TikTok UGC for new awareness
Sephora in-store refills and Insider promos lead to new trial
Creator get ready with me: “Refill run to Sephora” leads to new funnel entry
Sephora traffic becomes TikTok Shop traffic and vice versa
Result
Platform funnels fuel daily reach and speed. Retail funnels build deep trust and trial.
Together, they form a complete engine with a full funnel strategy fueled by inbuilt shorter funnels to help with the cash flow for an indie beauty brand.Here are three challenges and solutions with examples for the emerging prestige skincare brand Funskin:
Challenge One: Fragmented content across TikTok, PDPs, shelf and creators
Solution: Create a year-long master content plan with three to four quarterly themes. Build a content cascade system covering TikTok, Sephora.com, in-store and creators.
Funskin Example:
Q1 Theme: “Barrier Comeback”
-TikTok POVs: “What fixed my barrier”
-PDPs mirror glow visuals and ingredient story
-Shelf signage links to TikTok
-Creator briefs and UGC syncedMapped in a campaign calendar
Challenge Two: Limited control over Sephora data and shelf impact
Solution: Co-develop campaigns with Sephora using QR codes, exclusive bundles and minis tied to TikTok metrics.
Funskin Example:
“Barrier Boost” shelf includes:
-TikTok-linked QR code
-Mini unlocked after scan
-Sephora tracks scans + redemptionsCreates a closed loop from TikTok to shelf
Challenge Three: Small team managing creators across platforms
Solution: Use tiered creators (nano, mid, pro) with quarterly briefs tied to campaign themes for scale and alignment.
Funskin Example:
Q2 Theme: “Summer Skin Reset”-Nanos: ASMR(Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) texture demos
-Mid: Get Ready With Me with product logic
-Pro: In-store TikToks with Sephora Squad
One message, multiple formats.
The key to effectiveness of this strategy is identifying, measuring and influencing the key lever stages for each of the three full consumer funnels to achieve both short- and long-term sales goals.
- Lynn Power Founder and Co-Founder, Power Beauty Collab and Masami
The harsh reality is that any brand launching these days needs to be what we call DTC-plus. Your e-commerce business is at the core, but you are also going where your customers are (Amazon, retail, marketplaces, etc.) This is a difficult road as many brands starting out don't have the funds to compete everywhere.
I suggest getting your own website 90% done first and getting on Amazon early so you can build up customers and reviews on both. Be aware of profit margins on Amazon as these customers can be transactional, and you don't have the data of who they are. Work on optimizing your website on an ongoing basis, taking customer feedback into account and integrating new tech stack partners who can make your site more efficient, faster and user friendly.
From there, expand to other marketplaces and retailers (like Target.com, Walmart.com, SalonCentric, salons, boutiques and more) and work on building out your most compelling story. Try to manage your inventory promotions so you can offer different SKUs and discounts for different retailers.
- Inna Tumarin Founder, CEO and Creative Director, Glazed Gloss
Commercial advertising has transitioned unequivocally from "shelf space" to "scroll space." A brand's sustained viability now hinges upon a meticulously crafted marketing strategy that emphasizes a dynamic presence on platforms such as TikTok, Amazon and Meta integrated with sophisticated AI-driven intelligence.
At Glazed Gloss Creative Collective, the development of our marketing roadmap for any client invariably commences with digital stack optimization and a comprehensive social media architecture. The imperative is to meet the consumer where they are most active, that locus is no longer confined to traditional retail environments. Contemporary consumers engage in exploration, self-education and brand discovery within the curated digital ecosystems established by the influencers they revere.
In our current engagement with a prestige haircare brand slated for a 2026 debut, our marketing roadmap strategy initiates with a holistic assessment of the brand as a lifestyle, translating that essence into a targeted understanding of the prospective consumer and the aspirational ideals they espouse. The haircare brand’s archetype consumer is characterized by frequent travel, an appreciation for sun-drenched destinations, attendance at prominent events, an amiable disposition and an overall captivating persona.
Our digital strategy will meticulously incorporate SEO keywords pertinent to this consumer's digital footprint during website construction. We will not commence social media engagement until SEO has been thoroughly addressed, focusing on long-form video content and substantive storytelling, with an emphasis on community quality rather than mere numerical quantity. The sheer volume of followers is inconsequential. Authentic engagement is paramount, directly influencing conversion rates and, consequently, sales.
Once the brand's target demographic has been precisely delineated, we adopt a holistic perspective for each digital channel, treating it as a distinct storefront and conducting exhaustive research to determine the optimal content for maximizing conversions. TikTok, for instance, thrives on provocative content hooks and elements of surprise. We are leveraging our influencer network to generate authentic, relatable commercial content that eschews overt sales pitches, concentrating instead on lifestyle integration, product utilization tutorials, educational insights and engaging entertainment.
Meta, conversely, places heightened value on SEO optimization, shares, comments and post saves, deemphasizing the singular metric of "likes." Thus, content must offer tangible value to the audience. A/B testing methodologies inform our understanding that lighthearted, whimsical content resonates most effectively with this platform's users.
Amazon receives analogous treatment, with each digital platform assessed as a distinct storefront. In conjunction with platform-specific curated content, we devise unique product offerings tailored to each segment, encompassing value-sized product options for limited periods such as Amazon Prime Day and TikTok-exclusive launch campaigns that generate anticipation through lifestyle-centric brand showcases and visuals cultivated by our influencer cohort months in advance. Finally, for Meta, we have allocated a micro-influencer collaboration fund dedicated to affiliate marketing initiatives.
A deliberate, phased approach to brand awareness, cultivated through a dedicated, almost cult-like following, fosters profound brand loyalty, engenders authentic engagement and creates a halo effect that extends brand recognition into brick-and-mortar environments.
In every buyer presentation I have conducted over the past five years, when evaluating prospective "shelf space" opportunities for our clients, the discourse has invariably pivoted to the extent of the brand's reach across digital platforms. Retail buyers are acutely cognizant of the impact that established digital community demand exerts on consumer awareness of products gracing their shelves.
Furthermore, buyers invariably inquire about the brand's internal financial commitment to digital promotional efforts. It is no longer sufficient to merely launch a product with a retailer and expect it to spontaneously gain traction. Employing a proprietary AI-driven platform, our digital firm can generate voluminous content meticulously tailored to align with precise branding directives and SEO parameters, while providing real-time return-on-investment (ROI) analytics for each individual piece of content. No longer is advertising investment a guessing game, we can furnish precise metrics detailing the revenue generated by each content element.
Emerging brands today face the critical challenge of underestimating the sheer volume of content required to maintain a sustainable presence within the dynamic ecosystems of the digital sphere. Compounding this is a frequent lack of adequate capitalization to underwrite the costs associated with this necessary content production.
In launching my former brand, Global Nourish Skincare, a venture I self-funded from its inception, I became acutely cognizant of the substantial expenditures inherent in commercial content production. From this realization of a deficiency in production support for emerging brands, the concept for what is now Glazed Gloss Creative Collective, a digital platform crafted for founders, by a brand founder, was conceived.
My objective was to democratize access for emerging brands to the caliber of high-quality, batch-produced content typically generated by industry titans such as Estée Lauder and L'Oréal, thereby fostering a competitive advantage and empowering them to cultivate an aesthetic on par with these established, well-funded entities. This truly made my brand stand out from the start as I was selling a lifestyle and easy SoCal living with my skincare brand. It was vibrant, alive and I had an organic cult-like following with my use of imagery and storytelling.
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