Founded in 2015, The Beauty Crop is a clean beauty brand offering makeup and skincare enriched with plant-based superfoods at an affordable price point. Products are sold through high street retailers, online and in stores, including Superdrug, The Hut Group, Walmart, Macy's, Urban Outfitters and Target. The company is now looking to further expand in the UK and EU markets and are offering investors the opportunity to join, as they continue to grow.
We are on a mission to disrupt the affordable beauty space by offering high performing vegan formulas with 100% recyclable packaging at affordable price points.
The Beauty Crop is a beauty brand that has created a business model adapted to the priorities and demands of Gen-Z. The brand develops ingredient focused beauty products that cater to the themes of fun, sustainability, affordability and diversity, through an in-house, data-driven R&D function.
Products are sold through high street retailers, online and in stores, including Superdrug, The Hut Group, Walmart, Macy's, Urban Outfitters and Target. The US accounts for 50% of sales across over 40 retail locations, while the UK accounts for the remainder across over 100 locations. The company's 100 SKUs include plant-based, ethically made, nutritional cosmetics and skincare products, priced between £5 and £30.
The business model caters to digitally native consumers who discover brands on social media and reflects changing consumer purchasing behaviour - consumers are increasingly product-driven as opposed to brand-driven in their purchasing - prioritising trust in the product and sustainable sourcing over established makeup and beauty brands and showing increasing willingness to buy from new, independent brands. Prominent trends that are core to The Beauty Crop's offering include: colour cosmetics that reflect a range of skin colours, personalised skincare routines, plastic-free and biodegradable products and gender neutral products.
Differentiation and Positioning:
The company has prioritised and responded to the shift in cosmetics and beauty purchasing which enables it to be significantly more dynamic and quick-to-market than larger, established beauty brands. Instead of establishing brand prominence through retail concessions and traditional marketing, the company has leveraged low-cost digital marketing and social media channels, establishing a strong consumer following through prioritising Gen-Z needs - ethically sourced, inclusive products at an affordable price point.
The Beauty Crop uses data to identify trends and develop and launch products, in-house, within 6 weeks. Products are then market tested through the online stores of major retailers and where fit is strong, the company invests in stock and launches products on shelves.
Key Milestones and Traction:
The company has delivered a CAGR of 200% since launch in 2015 and has established a significant social media following - with 55,000 followers on Instagram and over 10.5 million product views on TikTok. Sales have grown and the company has delivered a profit every year since formation.
Market Headlines
The beauty and personal care market is one of the fastest growing consumer markets, driven primarily by the cosmetics and skin care categories caused by a generational shift with young consumers entering the market. The market is also shaped by changing buying behaviour for beauty products - that has shifted from in-store to social-media driven ecommerce.
The US beauty market is valued at $48bn and forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% over the next 5 years. The European market is valued at €76.7bn, with the UK contributing €9.8bn. Gen-Z represents 40% of the US population - 60% purchase a beauty product before the age of 14 and 50% identify as beauty enthusiasts. Surveys have also shown that 69% of Gen Z were willing to spend more on health and beauty products that contain natural and clean ingredients.
Emerging cosmetics and beauty brands have been gaining market share and driving M&A activity for established global brands. Examples include Shiseido's acquisition of Drunk Elephant for $845m, Unilever's purchase of Tatcha for $500m, L'Oreal and IT Cosmetics for $1.2bn, Elf and Well People for $27m, The Hut Group and Perricone MD for $60m and Coty and Kylie Cosmetics for $600m (51%).
Credit commentary:
The director is providing a personal guarantee, this means that if the business fails, the director becomes personally liable for the loan. The director is a homeowner; however, this does not ensure there are sufficient assets should the loan need to be recovered. There have been no CCJs against the business or directors. The bank statements demonstrate reasonable affordability. In the 2019 and 2020 accounts, administration expenses were £629,772 and £906,338 respectively. There was a loss on revaluation of property, plant and equipment in 2019 and 2020 of £14,166 and £9,040. There was a (loss)/gain due to foreign exchange differences in 2019 and 2020 of £2,310 and (£58,251). The administration expenses in the financial table below includes the addition of the loss on revaluation of property, plant and equipment, and the (loss)/gain due to foreign exchange differences. The Equifax score and grade, on which we base our assessment of risk, are based on the 2020 accounts. We have performed our assessment on recent financial information, including 2021 management accounts, which were not available to Equifax. The management accounts were prepared by an external accountant.
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