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Ulta Beauty is hoping to bolster early-stage, BIPOC-owned brands with its new MUSE Accelerator announced this week. The 10-week program, kicking off in September, will offer eight brands $50,000 grants, along with resources for retail success across supply chain, merchandising, legal, and marketing.
“It’s about amplifying underrepresented voices,” Monica Arnaudo, Ulta’s chief merchandising officer, told WWD. “It’s about us curating and nurturing a diverse assortment, and bringing in a diverse assortment that is meeting the needs of our community.”
- In February, Ulta said it was investing $50 million in DE&I, in part to support BIPOC founders and broaden its offerings. Last September, Ulta also announced its MUSE 100 grant program, offering $10,000 grants to 100 Black beauty creatives.
In addition to being BIPOC-owned, brands must be “shelf-ready” and have more than one product (preferably in the same category) to be eligible. They also can’t be currently sold in a major retailer.
- At the end of the program, participants will have the opportunity to pitch Ulta merchants (and investors), but they’re not guaranteed to hit the retailer’s shelves.
Strong foundation: The hybrid in-person and virtual curriculum pairs participants with mentors like Black Girl Sunscreen creator and founder Shontay Lundy, BeautyStat Cosmetics founder and CEO Ron Robinson, and Mented Cosmetics co-founder and CEO KJ Miller.
“Having built and launched a brand from concept to aisle, I understand the critical importance of mentors as guides along the way—especially as a minority navigating new territories,” Lundy said in a statement.
- Robinson told WWD these mentorships will help brands with opportunities for marketing and securing capital.
+1: Sephora has also turned to an accelerator as a way to support BIPOC entrepreneurs. Its six-month Accelerate, which first debuted in 2016, was revamped, starting with its 2021 class, to focus on BIPOC-founded brands; we recently spoke to two participants about how the program helped them prep for retail shelves.—EC