Ulta Beauty’s wellness assortment isn’t just doing well — it’s getting better.
“We make wellness accessible and we democratize it. We’re in all 50 states across the country, we serve every single beauty enthusiast out there,” said Michelle Crossan-Matos, the retailer’s chief marketing officer, in conversation with Jenny B. Fine, executive editor, beauty, WWD and Beauty Inc. “Our mission is to take the guesswork out of wellness and to help people understand their own wellness journey.”
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Crossan-Matos outlined the retailer’s game plan for tackling wellness needs, which starts with the consumer. “The business is booming, the growth has been incredible — hence why we keep expanding,” she said.
“We take cues from the communities we serve. We see how they want this to be much more of an inclusive conversation, they want to see the products in stores, they need education in how to enjoy these products,” Crossan-Matos continued.
Ulta Beauty’s wellness shop includes everything from supplement brands like Moon Juice and Lemme to what the retailer has dubbed “down-there care,” which includes tampons and period pain relief devices.
As for which categories Crossan-Matos sees the most opportunity in, the considerations are also generational. The needs of a menopausal shopper, for example, differ greatly from someone who is going through puberty, for example. “It depends on the community you’re serving,” she said. “The beautiful thing about wellness is the intersectionality of generations of beauty enthusiasts. Basically, anyone who cares about their health or well-being is in that space.”
Ulta has also made efforts to create positive and inclusive conversations around traditionally taboo wellness topics. “Intimate wellness, sexual health — that’s a core experience,” Crossan-Matos said. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
To further those efforts, Ulta recently inaugurated The Joy Project, a partnership with Mel Robbins and the impetus for a study among 5,000 teens and adults on how they experience joy. As reported, 73 percent of respondents experience negative self-talk, while 70 percent don’t recognize it as such. Ninety-one percent see it as a key hurdle in experiencing joy.
“The statistics are alarming,” Crossan-Matos said, noting that the project was born out of an ongoing dialogue with store associates on what they see among consumers. “They feel like they are the therapists to our guests, and they want to help them.”
Crossan-Matos also had parting words of wisdom to brands hoping to enter Ulta Beauty’s wellness shelves. “Understand who is the fastest-growing market, you may not want the fastest growing market for now, you may want to go niche. But look for that market growth, look for unmet needs, not only today but in the future,” she said.
“That’s what the consumer tech industry does really well. They don’t just look at today, they look in five years, and design in five years. Then, make sure your assortment has an emotional and a technological innovation point of difference so that you can serve that community in a way that other brands do today,” she continued.