From a 51-shade idea to the counters of five retailers.
A new color cosmetics brand taken from concept to market: sold into Ulta Beauty, Selfridges, ASOS, Sephora and Nordstrom, with the field, education and artistry structure built to support it in store.
- Client
- UOMA Beauty
- Category
- Color cosmetics
- Services
- Retail Sales · Commercial Rollout · Field Structure · Artistry & Education
- Timeframe
- 2018 to 2020
Led by Inna Tumarin, QYRAI™ Founding Partner, in her role as Vice President of Sales and Education at UOMA Beauty.
The range was the story. The counter had to be able to tell it.
UOMA Beauty reached shelves in 2019 with one of the widest foundation ranges in the category: 51 shades across six formulas, built on the idea that beauty comes in every color. The proposition was clear and the attention was immediate.
Turning that into a retail business was a different problem. A new brand had to earn space with buyers at specialty beauty, department store and online retailers, each with its own margin structure, launch requirements and expectations of support. And a range that wide carries its own risk at the counter: if the person selling it cannot match a shade with confidence, breadth becomes confusion.
The opportunity was to build the commercial route to market and the human one together, so the brand arrived in store with the people and the training to sell it.
Inna built the route to market and the team behind it.
She joined in 2018, before the brand reached a shelf, and built both at the same time.
- 01
Distribution
The work started with distribution. She sold UOMA Beauty into five retail partners: Ulta Beauty, Selfridges, ASOS, Sephora and Nordstrom. Together they span specialty beauty, luxury department store and pure-play online, across the United States and the United Kingdom. At Nordstrom she negotiated the commercial contract and the distribution footprint.
- 02
Commercial rollout
She then designed the retail commercial rollout and carried it from concept through to execution: how the brand would show up at each retailer, and the delivery of that plan in market.
- 03
Field & education
Selling in was only half of it. She built the retail executive and education structure that supported the brand in the field, giving each retail partner people responsible for the account and for the teams on the floor.
- 04
Artistry
The last piece was artistry. She created UOMA's artistry program and its education, the training that turned a 51-shade range into a confident recommendation at the counter.
- Ulta Beauty
- Selfridges
- ASOS
- Sephora
- Nordstrom
Across all four workstreams, the objective stayed the same: get the brand onto the shelf, and make sure the people standing beside it knew how to sell it.
From a concept to the counter.
- 5Retail partners sold in
- 2Markets: United States and United Kingdom
- 51Foundation shades supported at the counter
UOMA Beauty went from a concept to a brand on the counters of Ulta Beauty, Selfridges, ASOS, Sephora and Nordstrom, with a field team, an education structure and an artistry program behind it.
What began as a wide shade range became a retail business that buyers gave space to and store teams knew how to sell.
As it happened.
The milestones, as reported at the time.
- Apr 2019Launched with 108 products, including a 51-shade foundation in six formulasWikipedia · Beauty Independent
- May 2019In store at Ulta Beauty nationwide, and UK debut at SelfridgesHypebae · Cosmetics Business
- Nov 2019Founder Sharon Chuter named Beauty Innovator of the Year; foundation reported as more than half of salesRefinery29
- 2020Black Magic Carnival Collection launched, sold at Ulta BeautyEssence
- 2020Founder named Changemaker of the Year at the WWD Beauty Inc AwardsWWD via Yahoo
- Mar 2021Nordstrom launch announced: selected for the Inclusive Beauty roster, with a first booth in the Manhattan store and more stores to follow. Commercial contract and distribution footprint negotiated by Inna TumarinEssence
UOMA Beauty is a trademark of its owner. Brand imagery © UOMA Beauty, shown to illustrate past work. Retailer names are trademarks of their owners and indicate past trading relationships only. This case study describes work led by Inna Tumarin as an executive of UOMA Beauty, before QYRAI™.
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