Gen Z is proving a growing focus for Ulta.
In August, the retailer launched Florence by Mills, a beauty brand created by 15-year-old "Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown in partnership with Beach House. Ulta is continuing to build out its Gen Z assortment with the addition of Petite 'n Pretty, a makeup brand that has already won over the top kid influencers.
"It made sense for us to work with Ulta because they’re trying to round out the category in-store," said Samantha Cutler, founder of Petite 'n Pretty. "Our consumers are so engaged with the brand. We have DMs from kids and moms — they all went to Ulta yesterday and were sending us pictures. One girl drove three hours to go."
Since its launch in July 2018, Petite 'n Pretty's dot-com sales have grown 100 percent year-over-year. The brand is expecting triple digit year-over-year sales growth in 2020.
Last month, Petite 'n Pretty received more than 10 million video views from influencers with 500,000 followers and more. Its top branded YouTube videos receive anywhere between 25,000 and 165,000 views and its Instagram following is growing 20 percent each month. On social media, the brand's average post engagement is 5 to 7 percent. For comparison, industry standard is about 2 to 3 percent.
Petite 'n Pretty will roll out to 388 Ulta doors this week, as well as an additional 100 as part of Ulta's Sparked program. In partnership with Ulta, the brand will host a series of in-store meet and greets, the first of which is with Annie Rose Cole (387,000 Instagram followers, 835,000 YouTube subscribers). The brand will also launch a lip gloss duo, $20, exclusive to Ulta for the holiday season. Petite 'n Pretty's best-selling products include its palettes and lip products. A recent mascara launch is proving fruitful.
"We have the dance community and the more professional community that wears mascara all the time," said Cutler. "We researched how to make this mascara age-appropriate. We found that your eye is not fully grown until you’re 15, so we ended up a smaller brush that’s 2 millimeters smaller. The formula’s amazing, but it’s easier for them to apply."
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