TikTok has become a critical channel for beauty marketers. Gen Z spends an average of 128 minutes each day on the platform, and 40% of that generation prefers the platform as its primary search engine of choice. #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has fueled the platform’s reputation for influencing product discovery and driving sales. With TikTok Shop, the platform expands its business strategy with tools and technology to become a shopping marketplace with aspirations to rival Amazon. In this timely discussion, first movers will share hacks for scaling your business throughout the TikTok Shop ecosystem including TikTok's new Creator Connect affiliate program, Ad Products, Live Selling, and Shop Analytics.

In the hypercompetitive beauty landscape, what are the building blocks of an authentic and innovative retail model? The strategic partnership between JCP and Thirteen Lune has ushered in a new age of beauty retail where representation surpasses mere percentages, and true indie brands have a retail partner that can provide national exposure and scale. Together they have reimagined the beauty experience—from the highly curated assortment to the seamless integration of technology—all in service of delivering a hyper-personalized experience to America's diverse beauty consumers.

The Metaverse was perhaps one of the most hotly debated topics of recent beauty years—a new digital frontier with infinite potential, a chance to reinvent the Web 2.0 as a more democratic and inclusive medium. However, claiming a spot in this new digital landscape has not been without its challenges, as brands attempted (and some failed) to adapt to this nascent infrastructure. Those who are harnessing its full potential are managing to bridge the worlds of Web 3.0 with its predecessor, connecting physical goods with digital equivalents to ensure optimal sell-through rates. We dive into how  brands can best merge these two online worlds with Web 2.5 strategies and tools to traverse this new digital territory. 

As beauty retail gets increasingly competitive, emerging brands are looking for new channels of distribution to fuel growth. Spas, salons, and medical practices go above and beyond the experience a customer can get in a retail environment. They provide access to expertise and high-touch immersive experiences, but what it takes for a brand to be successful in a retail environment or a professional treatment room is not the same. Unlocking the potential requires understanding the ins and outs of the professional channel and the ability to earn the respect of the community of service providers who will make or break your success.

Brands exist in the space between how people perceive themselves and how they behave, and the fuel for the ecosystem of modern beauty brands that can fill that gap lies at the intersection of creators, content, and commerce. You are entertained by it, informed by it, and with one click, can buy it, pay for it, and have it delivered to your door. The creator economy is a dynamic force constantly evolving and reshaping how brands engage with their audiences. Harnessing the power of collaboration with creators and intelligent content creation and distribution can smooth the path from engagement to sales. 

When it comes to beauty, we currently live in a legal gray zone. The dilemma of creative copyright has plagued other disciplines such as music or artwork, but in an industry where a majority of ingredients—unless created as a captive or trademarked, are up for grabs—where is the line between a reference point and outright plagiarism? Couple that with the fact that counterfeit products make up more than 10% of the beauty industry—and that is just what is known. We will unpack the intricacies of legal protection for brand founders and creators, ethical considerations around dupe products, and whether, in 2023, the idea of an original product concept still exists.

Leading a heritage brand is not for the faint of heart. It requires walking the tenuous line of being true to the brand's DNA while simultaneously spurring evolution to ensure cultural relevance and appeal to consumers' needs today. Legacy can be a liability or a unique differentiator; there is no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to unlocking the value of a brand’s heritage. Every business has a different history. Since 1984, MAC Cosmetics has been a color authority grounded in the roots of artistry, inclusion, and diversity. In many ways, the brand was decades ahead of the industry. Heritage brands with something to say in the future have a leg up on start-ups because collective memories are long, and authenticity is a powerful currency.

The complexion of the beauty industry has been hard to resist over the last few years, attracting a cadre of new investors and capital all placing bets on what they believe to be the next hot brand. But with hundreds of new companies joining the fray each year, a consolidated distribution landscape, and the integration of new technologies underpinning brand and community building, never before has access to capital and resources been a more critical factor in determining the brands that scale and those that struggle for relevance. In this discussion, a group of “next generation” beauty investors will share their insights on the future of the industry, its challenges, and the elements they look for in their hunt for the next beauty unicorns.

New cultural codes and digital disruption have challenged the beauty ecosystem and its values—turning beauty into a movement challenging norms and breaking taboos, and giving new life to creativity, cultural expression, and social influence. Cultural relevance is subjective and challenging to define, but the ability to navigate the nuances of a rapidly evolving landscape can be a powerful competitive edge for a brand. The option is active participation or running the risk of becoming irrelevant. To get a view into the future of beauty, we will tap into Moj's deeply honed instinct on where consumers are going and what they want.

The era of pretty packaging, ambiguous marketing claims, and promises of miracles is over. Science is shaking up the skincare sector as consumers demand evidence of efficacy and trusted expertise, turning PhDs who have spent years researching in a lab into unexpected beauty gurus. The biotech beauty boom and the rise of science-backed skincare are fueling innovation, transforming the category, and raising the bar for fact-based claims around performance, benefits, and sustainability. We are going to the source to talk about the future of skincare with three scientists at ground zero of this trend.

Higher expectations, fully digital brand interactions, and shorter attention spans require radically different branding strategies. Brands need to realize that building and wielding cultural influence requires a different skill set than that required to produce and sell goods. Creating desirability and pushing the envelope on cultural relevance, sustainability, and impact for a digital reality are required in a future shaped by Gen Z.  Brand loyalty and longevity require a quantum shift in extreme value creation by an uncompromising focus on brand equity building, brand storytelling, and precise execution of the brand experiences.

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) as part of the 2023 omnibus spending bill. This legislation is the first major update to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority over cosmetic products since 1938. The Independent Beauty Association has had a seat at the table as the FDA has gone through the rulemaking process and will provide a download of what cosmetic manufacturers and brands need to know.