It’s undoubtedly the age of the celebrity beauty brand.

While film stars, music artists and supermodels have been the face of countless beauty campaigns throughout the years — whether it’s licenses, endorsement deals or joint ventures — never has the marketplace seen such an influx of celebrity-backed beauty brands. Hollywood agencies, working closely with their high-profile clients, have been playing an element.

“It’s the way in which of the longer term,” said Allison Statter, chief executive officer of Blended Strategy Group, of celebrities owning their brands. Her creative marketing and branding agency, founded with Sherry Jhawar, is behind Gwen Stefani’s GXVE beauty (a partnership with Nikki Eslami’s Latest Theory Ventures) and counts celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin as a client.

Statter, who has a background in talent management working for her father, music pioneer Irving Azoff, asks why would established, credible stars endorse a brand after they can have their very own as equity owner, particularly given celebrities now have direct access to their fans via social media? She’s been bridging the worlds of celebrities and types for nearly 20 years (on beauty deals for the likes of Mariah Carey and Jewel). Today, while leveraging social media as a marketing vehicle, Statter has been working with celebrity-backed brands, including Jennifer Lopez’s JLo Beauty and Jennifer Meyer’s expansion into beauty, to diversity their influencer strategy.

“Content is king now, and the more you make noise in a saturated arena, the more successful you’ll be, especially in case your product is top notch,” said Statter.

At United Talent Agency, there’s a team dedicated to brand management as a part of Ventures, a division created in 2014 that builds and invests in firms. The agency has helped develop Priyanka Chopra’s Anomaly, Lisa Rinna’s Rinna Beauty and Issa Rae’s Sienna Naturals. (There’s a men’s care line and textured hair brand within the works.)

The success of Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company, which went public last yr, Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetic and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop has had an impact on the industry, said Courtney McHugh, a vp and the top of brand name management for UTA’s Ventures: “I feel the shift has come not at one pivotal moment but from watching plenty of these female founders achieve success…Those women, I feel, really began to point out that it’s possible to have a voice on the table and to have an equity stake.”

It was in 2015 that Alba first unveiled Honest Beauty, expanding from baby and household goods into skin and private care as a part of The Honest Company (began in 2012 in partnership with entrepreneurs Christopher Gavigan, Brian Lee and Sean Kane). Three months later that very same yr, Jenner launched her uber-popular Kylie Cosmetics lip kits with its manufacturer, Seed Beauty. And a few month later, in January 2016, Paltrow’s Goop (began in 2008 as a way of life newsletter) debuted her first branded product collection with Juice Beauty, founded by Karen Behnke. Then got here Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, making a splash in 2017 in partnership with beauty brand creator and incubator Kendo Holdings, a division of luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. (It’s price noting, there have been others; it was back in 1994 that supermodel Iman began Iman Cosmetics, later aligning with Proctor & Gamble in 2004 as a part of a licensing agreement.)

“We’ve seen that there’s a marketplace for [celebrity-owned beauty brands] and that our talent desires it and deserves it,” said McHugh. “And it’s quite frankly a more powerful model than an endorsement immediately. They’ve ownership and a real voice, and we’re providing that chance for them.”

At times, it’s been talent that has approached the agency to pitch a beauty enterprise. Other times, it’s UTA that has identified a possibility, “after which go to talent and say, ‘Hey, we all know this is vital to you. You’ve mentioned to us that you simply really need to be a business owner. I feel we must always explore this space.’”

It will possibly take “six months and up to a few years,” for a brand to launch, she said. UTA helps construct an internal team for every brand, raise capital and supports the talent throughout the enterprise.

Michael Yanover, head of business development at Creative Artists Agency, has been involved within the creation of Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs since its inception. With a background in constructing and investing in businesses, he grew all for beauty start-ups following the launch of Charlotte Tilbury (CAA was an early investor).

“I learned loads about beauty through that have [with Charlotte Tilbury] in 2014…how there have been interesting startups that were created in the sweetness business and being sold to a few of the larger guys, and most significantly, I saw that somebody who’s an influencer, like Charlotte Tilbury, was having a serious impact on the trajectory of beauty,” said Yanover.

In 2016, he approached CAA agent Christian Carino “with the thought of making a recent business” and met with Lady Gaga. He didn’t know what the structure could be, but that it’d be great to create a business with Gaga in beauty, he said. “And I knew that she was not all for doing endorsements and licenses, that she desired to do something different…I’m rather more all for the client who’s all for being an equity owner and being an operator of a recent business.”

Backed by Lightspeed Enterprise Partners, the brand was launched in 2019 with Ben Jones as CEO (formerly of The Honest Company).

“The world of beauty goes to get harder in that you may have to maintain differentiating,” said Yanover (CAA can also be involved in Winnie Harlow’s Cay Skin). “To have your individual start-up in the longer term, you, as a star, really must have a vision as well. Not only the tenacity to be an entrepreneur, not only the reach to get numerous people all for the brand, but you actually must have a vision about a singular brand.”