The Nue Co. Rides Ulta Beauty Momentum With Joy-Inducing Scent Good Spirits

The Nue Co. has plenty of reasons to be in good spirits.

After surpassing its first-half sales forecast by 17% following its rollout to 1,100 Ulta Beauty stores in April, the brand is leaning into the retailer and functional fragrance with Good Spirits, a scent engineered to evoke joy. The fragrance launches exclusively at Ulta, arriving on the beauty specialty chain’s website on July 19 before entering stores nationwide on July 26. It reinforces The Nue Co.’s evolution from supplements to functional fragrance, which represented 65% of the brand’s sales as of February. 

The Nue Co. founder and CEO Jules Miller characterizes Good Spirits as a much-needed counterpoint to the wellness world’s obsession with biohacking and health optimization that many find fearmongering and stressful. “I really wanted to launch something that talked about joy,” she says. “I wanted to come back to these rituals and these things that feel very organic to us.” She adds, “We want to be known as a wellness brand more so than a fragrance brand.”

Good Spirits leans into New York resident and Englishwoman Miller’s Colombian heritage, opening with bright notes of passionfruit, blood orange and coconut water before grounding into a base of smoky mezcal, vetiver and sandalwood. She says, “These are all ingredients that, when you smell them, you instantly have that rushy feeling of joy, warmth and excitement.” 

Good Spirits is designed to activate brain regions associated with positive affect, producing a measurable shift in emotional state through scent. The fragrance is powered by MoodScentz, a neuro-fragrance technology developed by fragrance house Givaudan that draws on 35 years of neuroscience research and more than 200 million neural data points collected through InSituScanz brain imaging combining MRI, EEG and physiological monitoring. According to Miller, testing on Good Spirits involved new technology capable of identifying shifts in oxygenated blood flow in the brain, a neurological response that triggers regulation of the endocrine and immune systems.

Good Spirits comes to market as so-called neuroscents—fragrances formulated to influence brain activity and emotional states—gain traction in the fragrance industry. Rather than simply smelling good, they’re intended to impact how consumers feel.

With Good Spirits, The Nue Co. is embarking on its most ambitious marketing campaign to date. The campaign includes localized pop-ups featuring culturally inspired activations like shaved-ice raspados infused with the fragrance’s scent notes and a content series spotlighting Latin American voices in art, movement and wellness.

The Nue Co. was an early mover in the functional fragrance category, with its first, simply named Functional Fragrance, released in 2019. However, the brand raised its profile in functional fragrance with the launch of Forest Lungs in 2020. The scent is inspired by the Japanese practice of “shinrin-yoku” or forest bathing, and it’s crafted with patented olfactory technology to replicate phytoncides, organic compounds from trees and plants that, when inhaled, are known to boost human immune function, reduce stress and improve mood. Launched last year, The Nue Co.’s current hero product is Us, a pheromone-based scent that now generates 37% of the brand’s revenue from Ulta. 

Miller credits Ulta’s investment in wellness for The Nue Co.’s momentum at the retailer. The brand, which is also sold at Erewhon, has doubled its sales projections for Ulta for the second half of the year.

Wellness is a strategic priority for Ulta. During its first-quarter earnings call, the retailer reported wellness posted low single-digit comparable-sales growth. Fragrance was its fastest-growing category in the first quarter, with comparable sales increasing at a high-teens rate. The Nue Co. is merchandised within The Wellness Shop, the wellness assortment Ulta launched in 2021 and has continued to expand since then.

“Because health and wellness is such a key growth pillar for them, they’ve really put in so much investment into the brand,” says Miller. “I think that success at retail is that true partnership between brand and retailer. That’s really when it works.”

Public filings indicate the London-headquartered The Nue Co. is majority owned by Coterie L.P., an investment vehicle whose limited partners are Miller, Pamoja Capital Holdings B.V. and Charles James Ronald Gower. The brand has raised around $36 million over its roughly decade-long history from investors such as Unilever Ventures and REDO Ventures, the Geiger family office linked to the controlling family behind L’Occitane Group.

Good Spirits exemplifies The Nue Co.’s highly structured approach to product launches. Miller says it categorizes releases into A-tier and B-tier launches, with A-tier launches like Good Spirits receiving full 360-degree marketing support while B-tier launches receive a comparatively limited level of investment.

Budget allocation is closely tied to sales forecasts. Hero products such as Us and First Milk benefit from ongoing support through content creators and the brand’s customer community. The tiered approach to newness enables The Nue Co. to balance creative storytelling with profitable growth.