How Do You Get Into Sephora? 3 Tips for Startups, According to Artemis Patrick

Sephora struggled to ink partnerships with established beauty brands when it expanded to the U.S. in 1998, Artemis Patrick, the brand’s North America CEO, recently told Fast Company. So, to survive, she said, Sephora began incubating “baby brands” like Urban Decay and Benefit Cosmetics—which would, of course, go on to become household names.

This strategy made Sephora the world’s largest beauty retailer; it now has 3,000 stores globally and is projected to make over $2 billion in sales this year through its partnership with Kohl’s alone. And though Sephora is no longer snubbed by big makeup and hair brands, it still seeks out and signs exclusive partnership deals with promising startups. Milk Makeup, Glow Recipe, and Supergoop! are more recent success stories.

Today, upstart beauty brands are the ones vying for Sephora’s attention—not the other way around. So how does the global retailer pick the most promising companies in the ever-competitive beauty and wellness space? Here are three key pieces of advice Patrick shared with Fast Company.

And for good reason. Patrick said founders who focus on bringing their unique product to life—like Holly Thaggard, founder of sunscreen brand Supergoop!, and Tiffany Masterson, founder of the skin care brand Drunk Elephant—do better on Sephora’s shelves compared with founders who are more focused on their competition.

Sephora prefers early entries to brands, according to Patrick: “For the most part, the earlier we bring on a brand, the better. All we need is a name, a formula, and an idea. We want to co-create with them.” The key? The brand needs to be based on a particularly good idea—one that hasn’t been exactly executed on before.

Sephora reached out to founder Rebecca Zhou just weeks after she launched Soft Services, her sensitive skin-focused soap and skincare brand. Akash Mehta, the founder of hair oil brand Fable & Mane, said he had “little more than an idea and a logo” when he pitched Sephora in 2019.

Sephora typically wants brands to sign exclusive retail agreements that last two years, according to Fast Company. But when that time’s up, Sephora isn’t afraid to drop those that aren’t selling well—even if they’re celebrity-founded. Over the past two years, the retailer has ended relationships with JLo Beauty by Jennifer Lopez, Item Beauty by Addison Rae, and influencer Hyram Yarbro’s Selfless by Hyram.