The Glossy Beauty Podcast

The world of beauty is rapidly evolving due to the impact of popular indie brands, and the hair-care category is no exception. Niche hair-care brands are finding success by sticking with one focus, whether it's a hair texture, color and or style. The secret, according to DevaCurl CEO Robert Schaeffler is being small and nimble, which allows the brand to adapt to its customers in a way the larger players simply can't. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Schaeffler to discuss the perks of being a niche brand, the benefits of experiential events, and the differences between influencers and brand ambassadors.

When Katherine Power co-founded fashion and lifestyle brand WhoWhatWear in 2012, she wanted to democratize fashion. Now she is taking on clean beauty with a new brand, Versed. Just this week, Versed launched in 1,400 doors around the country, with an assortment of 19 different products, all under $20. The brand is currently sold both in Target stores and on a direct-to-consumer brand site, which according to Power, will be focused on replenishment orders and education. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Powers, the co-founder and CEO of WhoWhatWear and Versed, to discuss the impetus for launching the new beauty brand, the way consumer data played a role in its development and the reason Target is the perfect wholesale partner.

When Dino Ha first founded Memebox seven years ago, he wanted to find a way to bring K-beauty to new audiences, especially in the United States. But as time went on and his company grew, he realized that there was a disconnect between the brand's product offering and the consumers it was trying to reach, so he decided to do something about it. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, Memebox founder and CEO Dino Ha sits down with Priya Rao to discuss why he is not afraid to evolve his business model, how he is tapping into pop culture to push discovery and why he decided to launch the first K-beauty line of color cosmetics.

The role of the analyst in any industry is to monitor how that industry is evolving and track the movement of some of its most major players. Larissa Jensen's industry of focus is beauty, and she has spent nearly 15 years following everything from the rise of social media and consumer empowerment, to the explosion of digitally native brands and what she calls "the Kardashian effect." Now, as executive director and beauty industry analyst at The NPD Group, Jensen has become the go-to resource for all prestige beauty insights and trends. In this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Jensen to discuss some of the latest trends, like CBD and adaptogens, the rise of extreme transparency and the current drivers of the fragrance market.

When Charles Denton took over Erno Laszlo in 2011, the massive legacy brand was flailing. Now, eight years into his role of chairman and CEO, Denton has big plans for the brand, including new efforts in clean products and sustainability, and continued global expansion. In this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao and Denton discuss why failure is a good thing, how he differentiates American and Chinese consumers, and what his company is doing to earn an "environmental credit."

After a seven-year career at Goldman Sachs, Nancy Twine decided to try to make a company out of the curly-hair products she'd made for herself for years. So she presented her products at a trade show, received her first round of purchase orders from companies like Urban Outfitters, and six months later, Sephora called. Now, six years after launching her clean hair-care brand, Briogeo, Twine is taking on new challenges, like expanding into new categories and finding offline ways to engage directly with her customer. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Briogeo founder and CEO Nancy Twine to discuss how she's cultivating a diverse consumer base, educating her customer on product price points and making a play for wellness.

When Moj Mahdara took the role as Beautycon CEO, she wasn't particularly interested in beauty. To this day, she doesn't wear makeup herself. What she was attracted to was the unique community and fandom around Beautycon, and finding a way to take it to the next level. In the years since, Mahdara has continued to push the boundaries of Beautycon, expanding into new markets with Beautycon POP, moving into larger venues and continuing to find ways to make the event more inclusive and community-driven. For this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao sat down with Mahdara days before Beautycon NYC to discuss the not-so-average Beautycon attendee, the emerging competition in the space and the plan to scale through retail.

Before starting Hum Nutrition, Walter Faulstroh was a beauty junky with some frustrating skin problems. He had always had a passion for skin care, but no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to get rid of his breakouts. It wasn't until a nutritionist showed him the connection between health and beauty, that he finally found relief. Seven years ago, Faulstroh decided to share his personal discovery with the world with a DTC beauty supplement brand called Hum Nutrition that was quickly scooped up by Sephora. The brand now offers a wide range of products, which claim to address everything from dark circles to PMS to problematic skin. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Walter Faulstroh, the founder and CEO of Hum Nutrition. The two discuss the costs and payoffs of clinical trials, the way his brand is making a newer beauty category more digestible, and the reason he decided to sell direct to consumer.

In the last few years, there has been a boom of investments in the world of beauty. Brands like Glossier continue to receive massive rounds of funding, and join the elite club of beauty brands that have received valuations of over $1 billion. According to Rich Gersten, a partner at Tengram Capital Partners who has been investing in beauty companies for over two decades, these success stories have created a flood of money and attention from private equity investors. In this week's episode of The Glossy Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Gersten to discuss what he looks for when investing, why being a clean brand is no longer a differentiator and whether massive valuations on the regular are the new norm.

When you look at Melanie Whelan's career path, it doesn't exactly point to SoulCycle. Prior to landing at Equinox and SoulCycle, Whelan held positions at Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Virgin USA. For Whelan, the through line of all of these companies was a core focus on hospitality and building meaningful relationships with customers. Now serving as the CEO of SoulCycle, Whelan sees the opportunity to expand the consumer-focused, experiential brand on a global scale. The company's first London studio is set to open later this year, in sync with the brand's expansion into events and new retail products. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, beauty editor Priya Rao sits down with Whelan to discuss how to scale a boutique experience, how to move from a fitness to a lifestyle brand and why SoulCycle decided to make the move into wholesale with Nordstrom.