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Ulta Beauty has overhauled its fragrance section, rolling out changes at 1,385 stores. The beauty chain has broadened its collaboration with a notable fragrance brand, introducing a variety of new scents and products for customers to explore.
Snif Expands Fragrance Line at Ulta Stores
Founded in 2020, Snif is a fragrance company offering various products, including perfumes, laundry items, and candles. Known for its innovative try-before-you-buy approach, Snif allows customers to test scents at home before purchasing.
This model helps shoppers choose fragrances that best suit their preferences.
Last summer, Snif partnered with Ulta Beauty, introducing three unique scents to the retailer's lineup: Sweet Ash, Golden Ticket, and Tart Deco, each available in one-ounce bottles.
According to Retail Dive, on April 28, Snif broadened its collaboration with Ulta, enhancing its presence and offering fragrance enthusiasts even more options.
Founded by Bryan Edwards and Phil Riportella four years ago, fragrance startup Snif has raised $11.57 million. The company's most recent funding round in March brought in $7.36 million, as reported by CB Insights.
Ulta Beauty has been actively enhancing its product range with direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands through its Sparked Beauty platform launched in 2019. This initiative aims to introduce promising new brands to physical retail environments.
One of the notable companies expanding under this initiative is Bubble, a skincare brand. After initially debuting at Ulta in November 2022, Bubble increased its store presence by 50% in July.
Additionally, the brand introduced Cloud Surf, a cream moisturizer available exclusively at Ulta Beauty for a month before its broader release.
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The Ulta Beauty website highlighted that Snif has significantly broadened its presence at Ulta Beauty, extending from 539 stores to all 1,385 locations nationwide. Alongside this expansion, Snif has also enlarged its product offerings.
Customers can now find five of Snif's fragrances in-store, with an additional nine fragrances and candles available through Ulta's online platform.
Moreover, Snif is set to introduce its latest fragrance, Coco Shimmy, exclusively at Ulta Beauty on May 9. This expansion marks a significant milestone in the partnership between Snif and Ulta, bringing a wider variety of scents to more consumers nationwide.
Ulta Beauty Boosts Emerging Brands with Sparked Platform
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Ulta Beauty's partnership with Snif is a vital part of its Sparked Beauty platform, which was initiated in 2019, as reported by The U.S. Sun. The platform is designed to help up-and-coming beauty brands transition into physical retail spaces for the first time.
Through Sparked Beauty, Ulta collaborates with direct-to-consumer brands, providing them greater visibility while drawing more customers to its stores.
"Identifying what's next in beauty and growing brands to their full potential is what Ulta Beauty is known for," stated Tara Simon, Senior Vice President of Merchandising at Ulta. She emphasized that Ulta has long been a growth hub for emerging brands, introducing them to new customer bases to accelerate their success.
Simon also highlighted Ulta's role in offering exclusive, sought-after products. "Our guests have an insatiable desire to get it first and know Ulta Beauty is the place for new and exclusive products that you just can't find anywhere else," she explained.
Sephora, a major competitor in the beauty space, has also pursued similar strategies. Like Ulta, Sephora launched The Next Big Thing in 2019, a program that provides a platform for digital-first beauty brands.
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