Recently, Cosmetify, a British beauty retail data platform, comprehensively released indicators such as sales of brands and social media popularity and released a new list of the "Top Ten Celebrity Beauty Brands in the World". American actress Selena Gomez's beauty brand Rare Beauty entered the top ten for the first time and ranked third with excellent results.
However, Fenty Beauty, which ranked first on this list in 2021, remains firmly at the top. People can't help but wonder: What makes RiRi's brand have such a strong influence?
The influence and popularity of celebrities themselves can help brands quickly gather fans and seize market share.
According to Cosmetify's latest TOP10 celebrity beauty brand sales list for 2023, Rihanna's beauty brand Fenty Beauty ranked first with 477 million pounds (about 602 million U.S. dollars).
LVMH Group also affirmed Rihanna's high exposure to the brand in its financial report for the first quarter of 2023: "Fenty Beauty also benefited from the strong exposure brought to the brand by Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show in the United States."
On February 12, Rihanna completed her "comeback show" in the 57th American National Football League (NFL) "Super Bowl" finals. According to market monitoring and data analysis agency Nielsen data, this year's "Super Bowl" attracted a total of 113 million TV viewers, ranking among the top three in the ratings of TV broadcasts in the United States.
Rihanna's on-site make-up during the halftime show also made her brand Fenty Beauty earn a lot of attention in front of audiences around the world. Google searches for Fenty Beauty jumped 883% after the show, according to Cosmetics Business.
Self-created brands are a way for celebrities to transform their own powerful personal influnence into commercial value, but the professionalism of the beauty industry requires celebrities to introduce the support of professional organizations or groups in order to ensure the long-term reputation of the brand.
In 2017, Rihanna chose to cooperate with the French luxury goods giant LVMH Group from the beginning of the brand's establishment. With the blessing of Kendo Brands, a beauty brand incubator under LVMH, Fenty Beauty recorded sales of US$550 million in its second year (2018). In July 2020, Rihanna collaborated with LVMH to launch the skin care line Fenty Skin.
According to a Forbes report in August 2021, Rihanna and LVMH each hold 50% of Fenty Beauty's shares.
However, if a brand founded by a celebrity does not have a clear and unique positioning, it will be difficult to maintain long-term growth and occupy a place in the increasingly competitive beauty market only by relying on the celebrity's own influence and group support.
Whether it is from the perspective of brand concept, product pricing range, or product category, Fenty Beauty has its own unique and differentiated development path.
When it comes to Fenty Beauty products, perhaps the most prominent thing is the rich shades. In 2017, Fenty Beauty launched Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, a liquid foundation with 40 color numbers, becoming the first brand to break the customary chromatographic range of foundation color numbers.
In 2020, the brand will further increase the color number of liquid foundation to 50 kinds. In addition, Fenty Beauty's concealer, contouring, and other products are also known for their rich color numbers.
Rihanna explains her brand philosophy this way, "Fenty Beauty is for everyone, for women of all colors, personalities, positions, cultures, and races. I want everyone to feel included, which is why I created this brand."
At present, the Fenty Beauty brand includes two product lines of makeup and skin care, including skin care, base makeup, lip makeup, eye makeup, perfume, and other categories.
The inclusiveness of Fenty Beauty fits the diversified and personalized demands of young beauty consumers and has become an important cornerstone for establishing real connections with consumers in addition to the appeal of celebrities.
