Applying to The Beauty Accelerator™ 2021? Lessons from Faace
17/09/2021 by The Red Tree
The Beauty Accelerator™ is the UK’s most exciting beauty initiative for emerging independent beauty brands. For the launch of The Beauty Accelerator™ 2021, we spoke to Jasmine Wicks-Stephens, Founder of Faace and winner of last year’s accelerator about how The Beauty Accelerator™ propelled her brand to new heights.
As you know, we just launched the beauty accelerator™ 2021 How does it feel to be the one of the winners of the (first) beauty accelerator™ almost one year on?
Brilliant. It really gave us the boost we needed, not just financially but also from a confidence perspective. To see that the panel chose us as a winner really cemented that all the hard work was worth it and that we’d created something standout in the marketplace.
What advice would you give to brands considering applying for the beauty accelerator™ 2021?
Think about your entry in detail. Really put the time and energy into making your proposition stand out. It’s more than just proving that you potentially have a business that could be financially viable, it’s about getting the judges excited by it as well. Consider why you, why now, really throw some passion into it, as if you do win, you won’t regret it. Plus to be honest, the process is a useful learning exercise anyway, as it gives you a good opportunity to take stock, which when you’re busy doing the doing all the time, can be easy to forget. So this gives you a chance to look into aspects of the business which you may not have paid enough attention to before and hopefully at the very least, make some positive tweaks to what you’re doing.
How has the beauty accelerator™ helped you in achieving the goals you had set for your brand?
It’s helped us grow the brand, develop the brand and also receive useful insights from the team, which has also supported our success.
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How have you used the investment you received from the beauty accelerator™?
All of the usual things you need to continue to grow a business – product, marketing, business running costs, it’s just really given us an opportunity to support the growth of the brand.
How has the red tree’s knowledge and expertise helped you over the last 8-months?
In a lot of ways. It’s been great having the regular support from a team who are so knowledgeable. Whether that’s just to give general advice or to make recommendations, they always have a solution to every conundrum, which just makes the day to day much smoother and more enjoyable. You really feel like they have your best interests at heart, as well as being very business savvy people.
What are your plans for future investment rounds?
We’ve managed to secure a lot of retailer interest internationally now – from the most prestigious to more mass to drive scale – which is very exciting, however now, we really need to focus on marketing the brand and growing brand awareness. So we’re planning another investment round soon hopefully to do exactly that.
What’s next for faace? Any planned hires, new product launches, new markets / retailers we should have on our radar?
We’ve just launched into Anthropologie and Harrods and will be launching in a few other places this year in the UK, but also internationally. We’re also developing new products for next year (which I don’t want to reveal as we haven’t confirmed the final line up yet), and just generally continuing to hopefully create a brand that resonates with people.
The Red Tree is the UK’s leading international beauty brand consultancy and a powerhouse of ideas, insight and inspiration. For an informal discussion on how we might help you, please contact us.
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