The top fastest growing US indie cosmetic brands

08-Dec-2015 - Last updated on 09-Dec-2015 at 21:03 GMT

Indie brands are the ones to watch right now, as innovative products and sleek marketing translate into breakneck market growth. And here we highlight the top drivers in the category.

A new report titled “Beauty’s Most Buyable Brands: Analysis of Booming Independent Brands in the US, authored by researchers at Kline Group, looks at the top 105 independent cosmetic companies in the US.

But here we focus on the top players likely to make the biggest splash, both now, and as 2016 unfolds – the brands that are hoping to emulate the success of NYX, which was bought up by the world’s biggest cosmetics player, L’Oréal.

Indie revenue growth touches 20%

Kline’s figures are compelling. According to its researchers, the US cosmetics and personal care industry is currently worth around $43bn and is delivering growth of just under 3% per annum.

Although indie brands were estimated to have accounted for 7.3% of the total market in 2014, what is really eye-opening is the fact that Kline estimates indie companies delivered an average growth rate of 19.6% from 2013 to 2014.

The research in Kline's report is based on data covering the most recent financial period 2013 – 2014 and is a strong indication of some of the most exciting indie brands to look out for during the course of next year.

Watch out for e.l.f., Anastasia Beverly Hills and Too Faced Cosmetics

Kline sees that the top indie players in terms of revenues Earned Media Value in 2014 were invariably built from social media, and include Too Faced Cosmetics, with an estimated value of $68.6m, Anastasia Beverly Hills with $65.4m and e.l.f. with $28.5m, according to data from Tribe Dynamics.

The Kline researchers indicated that an indie company’s ability to translate social media exposure in to revenue is pivotal to success and that there is a significant correlation to this value and revenue growth, ultimately giving a good indication of whether or not a brand is likely to develop fast.

In a follow-up article, we will take a closer look at Kline’s individual research on some of these fastest moving brands, including Butter London, e.l.f. and eos, to highlight what is really making these brands resonate with consumers.