LOS ANGELES — Last week, a curated group of beauty and wellness executives from Los Angeles’ most exciting founder-led brands gathered for dinner in the city. Held at Living Room in the city’s Hollywood district, founders, c-suite executives and creative leaders came together to celebrate their successes and reflect on the inflection point for founder-led brands within the beauty industry.

Hosted by Melis del Rey, general manager of health and beauty at Amazon U.S. Stores, along with Priya Rao, executive editor of The Business of Beauty, and Alice Gividen, director of content strategy at The Business of Fashion, the evening opened with a welcome toast from del Rey. Gividen and Rao then reflected on the most relevant learnings from The Business of Beauty’s The State of Fashion: Beauty report, placing particular emphasis on the learnings for founder-led businesses.

Indeed, a slew of founder-led brands have emerged across the beauty and wellness categories in recent years. While a prominent celebrity and influencer can generate early traction, the path to building a billion-dollar brand is more complex. Consumer loyalty must be earned and maintained through strong product performance and a presence across the channels and platforms where customers are spending time.

The State of Fashion: Beauty report found that only 13 percent of consumers cite the brand founder as a key reason for buying their most frequently purchased brand, but performance and price are cited by 39 percent and 24 percent, respectively. For these brands, a strong underlying value proposition can nurture a brand’s identity beyond the founder’s personality over time.

Los Angeles’ thriving beauty community was well represented at the table. Founders including Danessa Myricks of Danessa Myricks Beauty, Arrae’s Nishant Samantray and Siffat Haider, Phlur owner and creative director, Chriselle Lim, and Mara Roszak, founder of Rōz Hair Care, joined c-suite executives from Kosas, Pattern Beauty and Haus Labs, alongside senior leaders from Ilia, Morphe, Summer Fridays, Beauty Blender and One/Size by Patrick Starrr.

Del Rey reflected on Amazon’s evolution in beauty and the importance of supporting brand storytelling. “Being able to tell [a brand’s] story in a unique and engaging way, having the technology tools that allows them to represent their brand equities on Amazon, is very important to us,” she told The Business of Beauty.

She noted that Amazon has invested significantly in elevating the shopping experience and building tools brands need, including a large-scale creator programme that helps customers authentically discover products from creators they trust.

Those investments are now boosting the retailer’s share of the beauty market. Morgan Stanley analysts project that Amazon will exceed 14.5 percent of U.S. beauty sales by the end of 2025, overtaking Walmart as the country’s largest beauty retailer.

Matthew Berkson, CEO of Maison Louis Marie, reinforced how storytelling creates authenticity. “The benefit of being a founder brand is your storytelling stays very coherent,” he said. “It’s our ability to control every touch point of our company over a long period of time. I think it really is authentic to a customer, and [they] can feel it.”

That authenticity, several guests noted, is rooted in purpose. “These brands are so grounded and centred in purpose and the story,” said Christiane Pendarvis, co-CEO of Pattern Beauty, founded by Tracee Ellis Ross in 2019. “The reason they started is because someone saw something in the market that was an opportunity that a legacy brand somehow wasn’t addressing,” she added.

Throughout the evening, guests reflected on how they are navigating a more complex growth environment while staying connected to their customers. Juliette Tang, chief executive officer of One/Size by Patrick Starrr, shared that the brand is “data obsessed” and looks beyond beauty to understand the full landscape of what customers are shopping across categories. “We really try to understand their world, and it’s through that understanding we can continue to push ourselves to be relevant to [our customers] and to keep serving their needs,” she said.

Pendarvis noted that customer intimacy is embedded in Pattern Beauty’s DNA. “We service the curly, tight texture community who hasn’t always been seen and celebrated in the industry, so it’s even more important for us to stay connected,” she explained.

Siffat Haider, co-founder and CEO of Arrae, echoed this sentiment as well, emphasising the importance of understanding what customers are missing. The wellness brand’s latest launch, MD 145+, a metabolism product for customers in perimenopause and menopause, came directly from customer conversations.

“We’re constantly talking to our customers, trying to understand what is missing from their lives and where they feel the most underserved,” Haider said.

Mara Roszak, founder of Rōz Hair Care, stressed the importance of staying true to expertise and customer relationships. “I continue to treat my customers like they’re my [salon] clients,” she said, noting that when brands deliver on customers’ quality and performance expectations, “they’re with you”.

That loyalty, several guests noted, is built through consistent community engagement. Kristin Patter, senior director of influencer marketing at Summer Fridays, highlighted the value of organic relationships and direct communication.

“A lot of customers today want to feel close to a brand […] They like feeling that their feedback’s taken into consideration,” she said. The brand hosts community events and pop-ups across the US and internationally, creating opportunities for face-to-face interaction.

Danessa Myricks, founder of her eponymous makeup brand, emphasised the depth of connection that comes from staying present with customers. “We’re in our DMs every day, creating all those specific social moments for them, paying attention to every micro pocket of our community,” she said.

That dedication has paid off — even in a challenging year, her community stayed consistent. “People buy people, not things,” Myricks explained. “They’ve fallen in love with a person or an idea and they want to see them win. It’s like having a best friend — once you’re in it, you’re in it.”

As the evening drew to a close, guests reflected on their wins and on the vital role independent brands play in driving innovation, meeting underserved consumer needs and sustaining authentic connections in an increasingly crowded market.

This is a sponsored feature paid for by Amazon Beauty as part of a BoF partnership.