LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 17: Hailey Bieber attends the Rhode UK launch party with Hailey Bieber at … More
Ever since E.l.f. Beauty came on the scene, it’s been in the business of disrupting the beauty industry. “We were founded in 2004 and have sought to disrupt the traditional beauty model of high prices, long product cycles and traditional advertising,” it stated in its first annual report after going public in 2016.
True to its word, it has been remarkably successful, ranking as the number one cosmetics brand in the U.S. in unit sales and number two in dollar share, according to Nielsen. Yet there’s no shame in being number two in dollar share since its average unit price is well under that of other cosmetics brands and is likely to remain so even after an across-the-board $1 price increase takes effect in August. Afterwards, 75% of its products will remain under $10.
Now E.l.f. has done it again. It’s acquired Hailey Bieber’s phenomenally successful Rhode brand for $800 million – $600 million in cash and $200 million in stock – payable at closing, expected in the second quarter, with the potential for an additional $200 million payout on the future growth of the brand over the next three years, for a total $1 billion.
“e.l.f. Beauty found a like-minded disruptor in rhode,” e.l.f. chairman and CEO Tarang Amin said in a statement. “rhode further diversifies our portfolio with a fast-growing brand that makes the best of prestige accessible. We are excited by rhode’s ability to break beauty barriers, fully aligning with e.l.f. Beauty’s vision to create a different kind of company. rhode is a beautiful brand that we believe is ready for rocketship growth.”
Disruptive Industry Deal
This is a hugely big deal for E.l.f., being only its third acquisition since acquiring clean-beauty brand W3ll People, now marketed as Well People, for $27 million in 2020 and skincare brand Naturium for $355 million in 2023.
It’s also big by recent industry standards, although there have been a few bigger. In 2023, L’Oréal paid $2.5 billion for Aesop – its largest acquisition at the time. But Aesop came with nearly 400 stores, unlike Rhode, which grew to $212 million in sales exclusively via e-commerce and occasional pop-up shops. However, it will launch in Sephora later this year.
Also in 2023, Estée Lauder paid $2.8 billion for the Tom Ford brand, but it also included a fashion business, handled by partner Ermenegildo Zegna, and eyewear, now managed by Marcolin.
Last year, Estée Lauder followed by completing the $1.7 billion acquisition of Deciem with its flagship The Ordinary skincare brand. However, it has been partnering with Deciem since 2017 after making an initial investment in the brand.
Yet the $1 billion price tag for Rhode is a stretch for a brand that has only been in business for three years with a limited ten product range with prices starting at $18 for lip tint to $32 for its signature “glazing milk,” well above E.l.f. comfort zone. The closest comparable is the $600 million Coty paid for a 51% stake in Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics with a total $1.2 valuation, but according to Forbes, that partnership has been rocky.
In his Substack “Making Cents” newsletter, Drew Fallon, former CFO of Mad Rabbit and CEO of Iris Finance, wrote, “For me, the biggest takeaway is honestly the 3 years thing. I can’t get over that, it’s insane. Combine this with the fact that Rhode’s products are innovative (i.e., potentially not durable) and I think this move is ALMOST desperate by E.L.F.”
TD Cowen’s Oliver Chen shares that concern. “The main question with the Rhode acquisition is whether the brand has longevity beyond its celebrity hype.”
Can Rhode Go The Distance?
There’s no question that Bieber has capitalized on her celebrity status – she’s the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and married to singer-songwriter and pop-icon Justin Bieber – but Rhode’s success goes far beyond that.
“She is a celebrity, but what drove the valuation so high was the authenticity, the community building – 11 million followers on Instagram – and the very methodic and deliberate approach to product development,” shared Dr. Brent Ridge, who with business partner and husband Josh Kilmer-Purcell founded Beekman 1802 goat milk skincare brand.
Ridge a great admirer of what E.l.f. and what Bieber and her Rhode team have accomplished. In fact, Beekman 1802 has followed much the same path, what he and Kilmer-Purcell call the principles of “G.O.A.T. Wisdom,” which they’ve detailed in a book of the same name.
The methodical, deliberate approach to product development that Ridge talks of – and that can also be called disruptive – is exemplified by signature Rhode products.
Bieber coined the term “glazed donut skin” to describe healthy, dewy and glossy skin. Rhode delivers the means to achieve it in a four-step skincare kit. And what Bieber started has turned into a glazed donut skin trend that has inspired many other brands, including E.l.f., which launched “Donut Forget Putty Primer” in partnership with Dunkin’ donuts.
Extending beyond beauty, Bieber combined the award-winning Rhode Peptide Lip Tint with a iPhone cell phone case to carry these two everyday essentials everywhere. And Rhode tied the glazed donut skin trend with Peptide Lip Tint in collaboration with Krispy Kreme in a limited edition “Strawberry Glazed Donut” colored and flavored tint.
“What gave us the conviction for a billion-dollar deal is Hailey and Rhode’s track record and what they’ve been able to build and achieve with such a level of conviction and depth with their community and in the market,” E.l.f.’s Amin said to Vogue Business. “But the thing that made us interested is that she is a fellow disruptor and that gives me a lot of confidence when I’m looking at a long-term M&A environment.”
E.l.f. Has A Lot Riding On The Acquisition
This deal comes at a pivotal time for E.l.f. Its revenues have grown from $230 million in 2016 – about where Rhode is today – to $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025. Most notably, E.l.f. more than doubled sales over the last two years – 2023 revenue reached $579 million. And it nearly doubled net income over the same period, from $62 million to $112 million this year.
However, growth slowed significantly in the most recent fourth quarter, ending Mar. 31. Revenues rose a mere 4% over same period previous year, not bad relative to others in the industry, but way below recent levels. It averaged 56% quarterly growth since 2023 and it hasn’t been so slow since 2019.
Clearly, the Rhode acquisition will give a boost to E.l.f’s growth in the coming quarters as E.l.f.’s dynamic product development engine is expected to help Rhode expand its product range, all the while maintaining its core brand DNA.
Bieber will stay as the brand’s chief creative officer and head of innovation, as well as act as a strategic advisor to Amin and the combined companies. E.l.f. has another celebrity-founded brand, Keys Soulcare with Alicia Keys.
Rhode CEO Nick Vlahos, previously CEO of The Honest Company and prior to that with Clorox and Burt’s Bees, will remain with the brand along with co-founders Michael and Lauren Ratner. Michael serves as co-executive chair of Rhode’s board and Lauren is President and chief brand officer.
“We can’t wait to bring rhode to more faces, places, and spaces. From day one, my vision for rhode has been to make essential skin care and hybrid makeup you can use every day,” Bieber said in a statement.
Acquisition Has Got To Work
Coming from his G.O.A.T. Wisdom perspective, Dr. Ridge sees the E.l.f.-Rhode partnership as a match made in heaven, “marrying a business powerhouse that has mastered disruptive marketing and product-market fit with a brand that has successfully de-centered its celebrity founder while still managing to capitalize on her for key moments.”
“Making Cents” Fallon is more reserved. “In short, this HAS to work. They just bet the company on it. If this is another Kylie Cosmetics moment, E.L.F. will be the next Coty, a stock chart that doesn’t look very fun.”
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2025/05/31/elf-continues-to-disrupt-the-beauty-business-by-acquiring-hailey-biebers-rhode-for-1-billion/