Beauty’s next generation has arrived, and they’re here to stay.
At The Catalyst event, Saie Beauty founder and chief executive officer Laney Crowell, Victoria Beckham Beauty CEO Lauren Edelman and Snif cofounder and co-CEO Bryan Edwards discussed how they are building the beauty brands of the future. The conversation was led by Robin Burns, who was at the helm of several companies including Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Estée Lauder and Victoria’s Secret Beauty, and is now the founder and CEO of Batallure Beauty. During the panel, the leaders discussed the importance of choosing the right talent, creating a strong company culture, fostering a brand community, and of course, always delivering on good products.
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While each brand has its own place in the market, the three CEOs shared a key focus: the desire for fun and joy.
“One of our founding principles…is joy,” said Crowell. “That’s because I want to look forward to going to work every day, and I believe that everybody wants that.”
Edwards had a similar vision when creating the fragrance brand Snif. “Our mission from Day One has been to be the funnest brand in fragrance,” he said.
In translating a brand filled with joy and fun to a consumer, the CEOs discussed the importance of first building a strong internal team.
“One of the most important things we do as leaders or founders is establish a culture…I look for creativity and resilience,” said Edelman. “Creativity is important to me, because at the heart of any great brand is inspired people…and then resilience because in a start-up, it can be grueling at times. Resilient people can find joy in the hardest times, and that’s a pretty unique attribute to find across functions.”
Crowell added: “The more fun we’re having, the more talent that comes and wants to work at Saie.”
While joy, fun and culture are at the heart of these businesses, all three CEOs are simultaneously grappling with the ever-changing market, thanks in part to AI and tariffs, though with a similarly positive attitude.
“I tried to reframe [the tariffs] for the team. Instead of it being this thing that was scary that we didn’t know how to solve for, I tried to frame it as exciting,” said Edelman. “It made me think in moments where we have difficulties or an anomalous situation, ‘How can we look at it as a rebirth or a moment of creativity and innovation?’”
Similarly, when it comes to AI, Edwards is looking at how to employ the technology to improve the lives of his employees, rather than using it to create campaigns and imagery.
“It’s about giving our team and our employees the tools and the software that they need to allow them to be more creative and allow them to use more of their human judgment,” he said.
Finally, in the midst of an ever-evolving marketplace and constant concern of economic downturn, quality product and community remain key for these brands.
“I’m obsessed with our community and what they want, and I listen very closely. The more community events that we do, the more that they want,” said Crowell, emphasizing this is also how she determines future product innovations.
Edelman added: “Brand desirability is your roadmap to making sure you have long term awareness [and] you have new customer acquisition, year over year, regardless of what’s happening in the market.”