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REPOR T

MAJOR RETAILERS ARE MOST INTERESTEd IN:

Brands with a momentum: brands with an established level of awareness and sales
momentum, 100K+ social media followers, a strong visual identity, constant & quality press.

Brands falling into the conscious beauty category: clean,
vegan, cruelty-free, sustainable packaging and positive impact.
ChALLeNGeS To SuRMouNT
BefoRe LAuNCh
Black owned brands: Black beauty founders Evaluating Potential Partners:
have a great opportunity to get in front of buyers. Navigating this landscape can be a difficult and
tumultuous task. When considering an optimal partner,
a brand must evaluate what an organization is ready to
offer the brand and how will it support their growth.
Top 10 MuST hAVeS foR ANy Though it always comes down to the unique goals
BRANd LAUNCHING IN THE USA: of the brand and the needs of their core consumer,
1. An excellent product with a unique point of differentiation. Brand a brand must navigate this challenge well, seeking
identity is key to success in a crowded marketplace. A brand must counsel if necessary.
Establishing Healthy Replenishment:
be rooted in authenticity, as the customer is more aware than Brands need a healthy replenishment strategy once
ever before. Brands need to know who their customer is, what they get that opening order. If they do not have a
they’re going to do for them, and meet them where they are, with training or event program in place, a brand will need
strategic distribution. to create bespoke experiences for clients and selling
2. PR strategies in place for brand awareness. staff, execute trainings, and provide event support on
3. A substantial marketing budget immediately available not only behalf of brand partners. Having a field team can bring
for the launch but for the entire partnership. activations to life within retail partners; and grow the
4. A dedicated sales team that can actively represent the brand velocity of a brands product(s). It can be overwhelming
for a brand to take this on as they consider global
with in-person presentations & trade show participation, as well expansion. This is why having a support team, that
as ongoing strategies to help bridge the gap between brands functions as a tool to bring activations to life and
and buyers. also help a brand build a replenishment business,
5. A logistics systems that is in place - this means U.S. warehousing/ is important. Additionally, the team should conduct
shipping capabilities. Brands may also choose to partner with a quarterly sales meetings with buyer partners to ensure
synergistic agency to help the brand get in front of the right buyers. the product is turning, and work together to build a
strategy to grow the business.
6. The right partnerships capable of acting as the most powerful Navigating MoCRA
megaphone(s) possible in order to introduce the brand to the Before MoCRA, the United States had not substantially
market. To build brand recognition, brands often need to partner changed or updated federal regulations governing
eventually, with a few major retailers to grow their community. cosmetics since the passage of the FDCA in 1938
7. A supply chain and cash lined up to be able to scale as fast as and the passage of the Fair Packaging and Labeling
retailers demand and be ready to support that success in every Act (FPLA) in 1966. Although MoCRA establishes
several new requirements concerning product safety, it
way, so that the brand is viewed as a valuable partner. It can be provides comparatively little guidance on the kinds of
tempting for a brand to take a retail opportunity that is presented, marketing or promotional claims brands can now make
but it will cost more in the long run if a brand signs onto retailers about the safety of their products. Hiring an expert can
that are misaligned with its customer base. help navigate the new regulatory requirements.
8. A synergistic brand and buyer relationship, one that builds a Section a should be
strategy to grow the business. A buyer may bring in 2-3 SKUs to This is especially true for smaller cosmetics
companies. These brands can best handle the MoCRA
start, but with the option to grow the assortment as the brand regulations by turning to industry expert counsel for
scales with them. Additionally, brands should seek buyers that help. What’s needed: A gap analysis to address where
accept training and their marketing strategy so that a healthy process remediation would be needed, and, as we
replenishment strategy is able to be implemented. Finally, move into the next phases of MoCRA in the coming
brands need to support their buyer partners, providing them years, a dedicated team focused on everything from
with: marketing, protocols, training, events, samples, and tokens education, to corrective action, and disaster recovery
if they were ever to be shut down by the FDA. In
of appreciation. the case of venture capital investors, which have a
9. Both imported and domestically manufactured cosmetics must financial stake in their cosmetics investments, and
comply with the FDA’s recent regulatory changes outlined under must fully understand the risks (or lack there of), as
MoCRA. well as what it takes to maintain compliance, expert
10. The company needs to be EDI compliant (electronic data counsel will be key.
interchange).

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