Rare Beauty Brands and JCPenny offer support to beauty and wellness brand founders, and Avon opts for AI and Machine Learning tech from Blue Yonder
💰🛍️ Dollars & Distribution
application deadline ⏰ July 18, 5pm Eastern
The 2024 LIFT Beauty Accelerator will fund 5 founder-led brands ($10K) and put them on the shelf at Black Beauty Collective storefronts in Chicago and LA.
An initiative from Rare Beauty Brands and JCPenny, the LIFT Beauty Accelerator also gives participating brands the opportunity to pitch JCPenny for possible retail distribution in-store or online, as well as 1 year of membership in the Black Beauty Collective (BBC), 1 year of membership in the Independent Beauty Association, real-time needs-based mentorship, claims support testing from the Benchmarking Co, product testing services from Validated Claims Support, product registration from The Good Face Project, and retail support software and VOB from BeautyFluent.
“By partnering with Rare Beauty Brands and JCPenney, we can continue our commitment of diversifying the beauty industry by ensuring diverse beauty founders scale quickly and thrive in retail so they can reach their full potential,” says Leslie Roberson, Founder and CEO of BBC, in her remarks to the press this week.
Established in 2022, the BBC is a retail store and ecommerce platform dedicated to supporting Black entrepreneurs in beauty and wellness. Collective members enjoy not only a retail presence but also marketing, social media, and PR support, plus camaraderie and knowledge sharing among the membership.
LIFT Beauty Accelerator is also sponsored by Black Girl Ventures, a foundation that helps fund and scale tech-enabled revenue generating businesses under $1m. (further sponsors a listed on the accelerator site, linked below)
Chris Hobson, CEO of Rare Beauty Brands, tells the press that the accelerator is premised on his team’s deep passion for “the transformative power of entrepreneurship….Working closely with past winners has been an incredible experience, and we are eagerly anticipating this year’s applicants. We are honored to collaborate with JCPenney and other amazing partners in our mission to uplift underrepresented founders in the beauty industry.”
Application Criteria:
· Black and Brown Female-Identifying beauty brand founders
· Brands that have between $10,000 and $1 million in annual revenue
· Business must be past the ideation phase with fully developed product or service, ready for customer or with existing customers
· Located in the United States and operate in the beauty and/or personal care industry, including but not limited to: skincare, hair care, color cosmetics, nail care, fragrance, bath and body care, tools and accessories, or wellness
application deadline ⏰ July 18, 5pm Eastern
🤖💋Digital Demand Planning
Avon International is adding next-gen tech to its supply chain operations management strategy.
According to this month’s press release from the supply chain software specialists at Blue Yonder, the beauty maker’s manufacturing and distribution in Garwolin, Poland (which serves 40 countries across 3 continents) will soon benefit from the AI and machine learning (ML) that built into their SaaS solution.
As part of the forecasting and demand planning, Blue Yonder’s ML models will be trained on Avon’s product campaigns, price, promotions, catalog position, and seasonality—which promises to increase prediction accuracy.
“Avon International recognized the need for a more integrated approach to demand planning,” says Maciej Kaniowski, COO of Avon International, in his remarks to the press. “With Blue Yonder’s supply chain solutions, powered by leading-edge AI and ML capabilities, Avon International will be empowered to meet the changing needs of its customers, representatives, and partners in a profitable and sustainable way.”
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