Makeup Industry: Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty

Category: Beauty, Makeup, Retail

Last Updated: 21 Mar 2023

Pages: 8 Views: 2603

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Rihanna created Fenty Beauty after having multiple experiences in the makeup industry and noticing that they do not cater well to the African American community. In her daily life, it’s obvious that she uses makeup. Whether that be in music videos or photoshoots, she uses makeup to capture the mood she is trying to convey. Being who she is, it’s evident that she has tried a lot of makeup varying in brands from luxury to less luxury however, she was never quite satisfied with the products in the makeup and beauty industry.

She felt like the industry produced makeup that was only fit for the lighter shade skin tones (Pacelle, 2017). Hence the idea to create Fenty Beauty, a brand that was heavily needed to benefit the African American community and everyone of all shades. Her motto was to come up with a product that is beneficial for everyone regardless of your skin one. She wanted everyone to be able to have a shade that fits them without having to mix multiple colors together to get the right shade.

Currently, the makeup that is available has many outcomes on different skin tones, which is one of the things she didn’t like nor wanted for her brand. Her goal is to include all woman with all looks however, her focus is on a colored and dark-skinned woman that are harder to accommodate when it comes to foundation. Her formula for her makeup is unique being as though it caters to all skin types. Universal shades were the targets in the backbone of the business plan.

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Fenty Beauty designs vary between lightweight and full coverage but are sensitive to those with different skin types. This is done to not only inspire her customers but also meet their demands in quality and price. In general, makeup should be there for fun and that woman or men should have fun when applying their makeups or when using beauty products it shouldn’t feel like an activity with pressure. Which is why she wanted to do something unique and different in this industry. Fenty Beauty produces beauty products using Kendo brands. The firm produces a variety of makeup products such as lip gloss, highlight, body bronzer, lipsticks, foundation powders, match stix, and beauty powders.

I will show the different end of Rihanna’s Fenty beauty company in all aspects and the company’s competitive advantage regarding basic business strategy and business environment in the industry. After that, the strategy of the market for the company will be analyzed and ideas on how Fenty can be improved.

Analysis of the Business Environment

I chose the company Fenty Beauty for my SWOT Analysis. Fenty Beauty is a fairly new makeup brand that focuses on young makeup artists that are young adults to older adults. They have many platforms, that goes to target beginners and highly skilled makeup artists. Their products include a range of foundation shades, creating an inclusive image of the company.

Fenty Beauty has a lot of strengths, one being what the brand stands for; which is unity and inclusion of all people regardless of race, religion, and age. This makeup line focuses on bringing together beauty around the world no matter the shape or form. I believe there aren’t many weaknesses for this company. The brand is already notorious and with a face and founder like Rihanna, it’s easily liked and recognizable.

Fenty Beauty really is targeting everybody. Every skin tone for every age and demographic is included in her line. The major threats to Fenty Beauty are competitors like Kylie Jenner Cosmetics which are designer cosmetics focused on the same clientele as Fenty. The main weakness in this company is that it’s still new and just fully getting started. So, it’s harder for them to compete on the same level as some other major cosmetic lines.

Strengths Weakness

Fenty Beauty has changed consumer expectations of how a beauty brand should develop products and communicate to a diverse customer base (Mintel, 2018a).
Rihanna’s association and part ownership of Fenty Beauty lends instant credibility to the brand (Mintel, 2018a).
Exclusivity at Sephora provides a unique experience that allows product trial before purchasing (Mintel, 2018c).
In the first month of launch, the brand's revenue was five times that of Kylie Cosmetics for the same period (MarketLine, 2018a).
Magnetic packaging adds an innovative and playful element to the brands nude shades and clean lines (Mintel, 2017a).
Highly inclusive brand (50 shades of foundation, first of its kind to do so in the beauty industry)
Strong celebrity endorsements along with featuring “every day” users on their social media. Makes the content more relatable.
Fenty Beauty has a charitable aspect to it. According to the website, The Clara Lionel Foundation was established by Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty and supports and funds groundbreaking and effective education, health and emergency response programs around the world.
Inclusivity in color cosmetics has evolved to include genderless beauty, and Fenty Beauty advertises only as “for women” (MarketLine, 2018; Mintel 2018d).
Strong opinions on Rihanna herself leads to consumers judging the quality of her products and her brand (MarketLine, 2018b).
Consumers and beauty bloggers are upset over the pricing and quality of the “Body Lava” luminizer after mixed reviews (Grassfields, 2018).
Fenty’s Instagram photo of the first product led potential consumers to question the quality before the company launched (Daily Mail, 2017).
New brand, established in 2017
Could be doing more to showcase men in makeup.
Fenty Beauty is a high price product brand, making it pricey for some individuals.

Opportunities Threats

Color cosmetics is the largest and fastest growing segment with almost one third of the total sales in the beauty market (Mintel, 2017b).
44% of women discover new products and brands on social media and 41% use social media to stay updated about brands (MarketLine, 2018).
The population growth of Hipic and Asian females predicted for 2020 will drive the beauty industry as both groups are more engaged in their beauty routines than other groups (Mintel, 2018c).
Facial cosmetics, including foundations, are estimated to have the highest consumer spending rate in color cosmetics with 47% of sales for 2018 (Mintel, 2018b).
Roughly 25% of women use YouTube tutorials to learn about makeup looks (Mintel, 2018b). • Since the launch of Fenty Beauty in 2017, mainstream brands such as CoverGirl and L’Oreal have released new shade ranges and extended product lines to include Black women in their respective brands (Mintel, 2018a).
Black women who follow natural beauty product trends prefer skin treatments over wearing color cosmetics, such as face and eye makeup (Mintel, 2018a).
Black women under-index among specialty retailers and are more likely to visit mass merchandisers, drug stores, and online-only retailers for beauty purchases (Mintel, 2018c).
Beauty consumers question the truthfulness and authenticity of influencer recommendations (Mintel, 2018b).
Kylie Jenner Cosmetics as well as other name brand/high-end makeup companies.
If prices continue to be high, they will forever eliminate a market of makeup lovers that cannot afford the product.
Currently there is no place in Muncie to purchase Fenty Beauty.

Analysis of the Target Market

Currently, the cosmetic and beauty industry is a competitive market. With everyone being interested in makeup and having youtube as a source to promote their makeup tutorials, it is important for makeup brands to constantly come up with new ideas. You have to take into account a lot of factors such as the department stores and specialty stores in which beauty products will be sold in which would be Macy's, Sephora or the MAC store.

Fenty Beauty flourished in a lot of ways. They have been reported $100 million in sales in its first few weeks, propelled by Rihanna’s fame and 71 million Instagram followers. For a long time, men and woman of color and those who are albino have had a hard time finding a shade in a foundation that matches their tone. In most cases, they have to get multiple shades and then mix those shades to get their skin tone which then means having to put on a lot of foundation which is very heavy for the face. Other companies always have a variety of foundation however within those shades you aren’t given full face coverage to those of a darker shade.

So you're able to see a lot of undertones in a person skin. People may say that it is harder to find a darker shade foundation in certain places because people believe that a certain kind of person does not exist in their area so theirs no reason to create something if there's no chance of it being sold. In an article written in Cosmopolitan in 2015 by Andrea Arterberry, she quotes Balanda Atis (a scientist with L’oreal USA) explaining that “While brands might succeed in making darker shades, they didn’t always get the undertones or the depth right. There are four pigments used to create a shade: white, yellow, red, and black. When creating deeper shades, there tends to have too much black pigment which causes the skin to look bruised.

Whereas for a caramel shade, there can be too much red or yellow, which causes the skin to look orange. Sometimes, titanium dioxide is added in cosmetics to add coverage but in the end, it gives an ashy pale like finish. This is how Rihanna and her team at Fenty Beauty decided to come out with a total of 40 shades in the foundation , which is the company with the highest number of shades in foundation ever seen. The brand is a symbol of diversity and targets anyone who not only loves makeup but also supports Rihanna and her businesses.

Competitive Forces Analysis

Fenty Beauty’s constant stress on diversity and inclusivity is what makes it different from other brands. The campaign video included many models of color who ranged from different skin tones. Fenty Beauty has 40 different shades of foundation which caters to all skin types and can be used as a light or full coverage.

The importance of being a brand for people of all races is what made Fenty Beauty different. They were prominent in making sure the importance of having good quality makeup for men an woman who was normally an afterthought. Rihanna. Challenged the standard definitions of beauty when she released Fenty Beauty.

Fenty Beauty is currently sold at Sephora, which is the top beauty retailer in the world and online at FentyBeauty.com. Like each brand sold in Sephora, Fenty Beauty has its own section where only Fenty products are sold. Fenty is at an advantage in pricing for many reasons. Their foundation alone goes for $35 dollars for 32mL which is a competitive price for higher-end makeup brands since they normally go for $50 dollars and up.

The obvious ongoing recession has led to many consumers trading down on some products and as a result, they become accustomed to buying lower-priced products (Lennard, 2011). Even though drug store brands such as CVS or Walgreens may not give the same effect as a higher-end brand like Fenty Beauty, they cost much less. High-end products normally cost $60 dollars or more which can turn away customers. With a poor economy such as this one, people are finding ways to save their money. The reality is that drugstore brands do offer some great products and so there is an industry concern that consumer might continue these habits as financial pressures ease up in the future (Carrillo, 2007).

However, the makeup industry has grown in many ways possible. People are in constant competition the moment they step outside which is why they need to look their best at all times. competing in a tough employment market and as a result, they need to look their best to convey confidence in an image-conscious society (Carrillo, 2007). Many high-end brands take advantage of this opportunity as their products are often promoted by professional men and women.

Makeup use has grown a lot in society when it comes to the use of men. Although women continue to outnumber men, the male population is expected to grow at a somewhat faster rate