Ulta Beauty’s Sparked Program Takes Center Stage In The Retailer’s New Store Format

Ulta Beauty is increasing the spotlight on its Sparked assortment of budding brands in a new store format.

Sparked brands are featured in walkable gondolas at the front of the store in what is referred to as the “Newness Zone,” a section designed to encourage discovery by blending mass and prestige legacy and emerging brands. Live Tinted, Tresluce Beauty and Sk*p are the first Sparked brands to be incorporated in the updated store format, which further blurs the boundaries between prestige and mass at a specialty retailer known for doing so.

Since September, Ulta has rolled out 20 stores with the store format. All new and remodeled stores will use it going forward. Typically, Ulta opens about 50 stores annually. 

“Sparked has a bit of a bigger placement now with more education and a larger merchandising space to tell the story,” says Muffy Clince, director of emerging brands at Ulta. “We’ve had amazing feedback from the brand community as well as from the guests.” 

The Sparked assortment currently sits in tower displays at 107 stores and dedicated endcaps at 450 stores across Ulta’s 1,300-plus store fleet. Clince says the number of towers and endcaps will likely climb in the coming year. Sparked brands aren’t available at Ulta’s installations inside Target, although that could change in the future. Ulta was represented at 186 Target locations at the end of the second quarter, and it’s due to hit around 250 Target locations by the end of the year. Eventually, it could be in 800 Target locations. 

Launched in 2019, Sparked spotlights buzzy digitally native brands stepping into a major retail partnership for the first time. Sephora’s rival program, The Next Big Thing, debuted the same year as the beauty retailers duked it out to attract compelling up-and-coming brands. 

Four brands are introduced to the Sparked program almost every quarter online and in stores. Sugardoh, Youthforia, Divi and About-Face are the latest beauty brands to join the program. Along with Live Tinted, Tresluce Beauty and Sk*p, Hally, Vacation, Sunday II Sunday, Loops and LOLI Beauty are among the Sparked brands. Clince estimates a total of 100 brands have participated in the Sparked program. 

Brands that have captivating founder stories, especially from BIPOC founders, preexisting demand from Ulta’s customers, and unique product differentiation are considered viable candidates for the Sparked program. Ulta also examines a brand’s growth potential, where it stacks up against market trends, and if there are cross-category opportunities with the retailer’s wellness and Conscious Beauty selections. Live Tinted, Youthforia and Sk*p span both Conscious Beauty and Sparked. Conscious Beauty concentrates on sustainable, clean, vegan and cruelty-free brands. 

“We’re searching for the brightest rising stars, but we’ve gotten really tight and concise on what we look for,” says Clince, adding, “Being in other categories or pillars opens up marketing opportunities for Sparked brands like dedicated monthly emails and media programming.” 

Brands in the Sparked program get their own merchant plus a “home team” to assist them with a smooth transition into Ulta’s main assortment should they be tapped to make the move. Marketing packages for Sparked brands include placement on the the program’s landing page on Ulta’s website, social and paid digital support, and email and print promotions throughout the year. Brands typically spend about a year in the Sparked program, but the timeframe can vary slightly from business to business. There are no fees or extra costs for the program. 

“We wanted Sparked to be an easy transition. There’s enough barriers, especially when we look at our BIPOC founders and these new emerging indie brands,” says Clince. “Around every corner these brands are facing challenges with bank loans, production and supply chain. We didn’t want to be another challenge.” She highlights Uoma Beauty, Love Wellness and Bondi Boost as brands that have flourished since being in the Sparked program.

Sparked brands have to be prepared to scale to graduate into Ulta’s main assortment. “We share early projections, and we try to get the brands acquainted with our best practices for what replenishment orders look like,” says Clince. “But there are things like being EDI [electronic data interchange]-compliant and other pieces of preparedness that are critical to success. Inventory management is definitely one of them.”

Scaling at a large retailer like Ulta can require huge cash outlays and isn’t a viable option for every emerging brand. Self-funded CBD bath soak brand Homebody, not a Sparked brand, spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to scale from 500 to 1,200 Ulta stores within a 6-month period. Clince says most Sparked brands are smaller and bootstrapped, but several have deep coffers and large built-in audiences. 

For example, About-Face is founded by the singer Halsey with Hard Candy and Smith & Cult co-founders Jeanne Chavez and Dineh Mohajer. Divi, the hair growth brand from fashion and lifestyle influencer Dani Austin Ramirez, has already generated $23 million in sales, according to the publication Forbes. 

Vacation is backed by the investment firms BFG Partners, Brand Foundry Ventures and Finn Capital Partners. Tresluce Beauty was created by Madeby Collective, a brand incubator and sister company to beauty subscription service powerhouse IPSY. Sunday II Sunday’s parent company raised $4.2 million in March 2021 ahead of its Sparked launch. Sk*p was co-founded by Mark Veeder, the co-founder of Farmacy Beauty who left the brand before it was sold to Procter & Gamble in 2021. It arrived at Ulta in early spring with a 700-store rollout before expanding to the retailer’s entire network of around 1,300 stores. 

As Ulta continues its hot streak—its sales jumped 16.8% to $2.3 billion in the second quarter while operating and net income increased nearly 18%—the retailer’s Conscious Beauty platform is experiencing “robust interest,” reports Clince. She says, “There has been an evolution of overall wellness into the beauty space as a form of self-care.”

Clince points to trends involving intimate wellness, scalp health, skin barrier protection, graphic eye looks and glowy skincare-infused color cosmetics products as top of mind for consumers at the moment. She says, “There’s so much to get excited about.” 

This story was updated with additional information on Monday, Oct. 24.