E.l.f. Beauty posted a sharp 50 percent sales increase for the most recent quarter, driven by upticks across categories, including makeup.
“June was the first month that the makeup category was above 2019 levels, so we’re definitely seeing a resurgence in makeup,” said E.l.f. chief executive officer Tarang Amin. “It’s our 10th consecutive quarter of net sales growth and our largest net sales quarter ever.”
For the three months ended June 30, E.l.f.’s sales jumped 50 percent to $97 million. Net income was $8.3 million.
“Certainly the execution of our strategy continues to work, and certainly was also helped by stimulus money, the easing of restrictions, the category starting to come back,” Amin said.
Face and eye products are seeing sales upticks, as are lip products, Amin said, noting that there is “pent-up demand” for makeup. He said other launches in the category have helped draw in attention, including Maybelline’s Sky High mascara and L’Oréal’s Infallible Foundation.
E.l.f. has seen success expanding its Putty Primer franchise to include an acne-fighting product, and just launched Big Mood Mascara, which Amin said he expects to be a hit.
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“I’m very bullish on the category,” Amin said of makeup. “You’re going to have some level of volatility depending on temporary restrictions, but overall we’re on the right trajectory.”
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For the Big Mood Mascara launch, E.l.f. partnered with rapper, singer and songwriter Tierra Whack for a campaign that will roll out shortly, Amin said.
Broadly, El.f. is planning to up its marketing spend to between 15 and 17 percent of sales, Amin said, based on success they have seen.
“We’re seeing really strong ROI across the board,” he said. E.l.f. has plunged more quickly into new marketing territories than most brands, and was early to TikTok and Twitch. Amin said 70 percent of E.l.f.’s consumers play video games, and 65 percent watch on different platforms.
Recently, the brand did a write-a-thon with Wattpad, a social storytelling platform. “It was telling stories about women in your life who are strong, bold and fierce,” Amin said. “We got the most level of engagement that they’d seen.”
Online sales remain elevated, Amin said, but sales at retail partners Ulta Beauty, Target and Walmart have started to tick back up, he said.
Sales are also off to a strong start for Alicia Keys’ Keys Soulcare, Amin said, which recently launched body care products. “We have multiple other categories that we’ve planned, multiple years of new launches coming up,” Amin said. W3ll People, which E.l.f. acquired a few years ago, is also doing well at Target and has seen success with its vegan and cruelty-free formulations. And E.l.f. is planning for its entire lineup to be “clean” in the near future, Amin added.
For more from WWD.com, see:
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