Milani Cosmetics chief executive officer Mary van Praag joined the sweetness brand during a difficult time for color cosmetics. It was 2020 amid COVID-19.

“The category took a rapid 20 percent decline,” she said. “For a small company, that’s a reasonably large hit. Your inventory is in query, your strategy, your whole innovation strategy is in query.”

Fast forward three years and it’s clear that van Praag has all the answers. The manager has turned the business around, rebuilding the basics of the brand in collaboration together with her team and partners.

“We’re the one independent brand in the highest 10, meaning that’s not a multinational public company or a conglomerate of brands,” she said of Milani Cosmetics — headquartered in Culver City, California. Founded in 2001 by siblings Ralph Bijou and Laurie Minc, the brand was acquired by private equity firm Gryphon Investors in 2018.

“I can share with you we aggregate all of our POS,” she went on. “We’re roughly a $200 million business, and our business is up over 30 percent on a 52-week year-over-year basis.”

Sales are greater than 20 percent since pre-pandemic times, she added. “We’re having explosive hyper growth without delay.”

Praag “reassembled the team” (now just below 100, globally), and a yr into her role, she brought Jeremy Lowenstein on as chief marketing officer. The 2 had worked together at Coty Inc.

“I began very like everybody else behind the Zoom screen, actually attempting to orient, construct trust and collaboration with a team,” she said.

What Milani Cosmetics already had was a robust DNA and footprint, referred to as a high quality yet inexpensive brand serving diverse consumers.

But it surely needed a shake-up. And there have been big pivots early on, van Praag said, including changing the main target “from skincare and doubling down on our core competency [in color]. After which, really investing in core franchises. Our top 50 [stock keeping units] make up the majority of our business despite the fact that we’ve got 390 skus.”

“What encouraged me to affix the brand, just like Mary, was there was quite a bit there that just needed to be relooked at and brought back to life,” Lowenstein chimed in. “For me, I have a look at brands as, ‘Why did they begin?’ And ‘How do you return and honor those core tenants and pillars?’”

Milani Cosmetics was launched for 2 reasons, Lowenstein said: “One was to democratize prestige makeup, so giving access to high-quality formulas to everybody versus relegating it to a selected channel. After which secondarily, 22 years ago, having the insight of — Black women were, at that time, essentially the most underserved consumer within the mass market from shade development. Fast forward, and we’re the leading multicultural brand now in mass color.”

Van Praag added: “I recognized that it probably just didn’t have the proper execution on all the key elements to drive what I call a vibrant growing mass color brand. And it required partnerships with key partners each on the availability chain side, the supplier where we co-collaborate on formulations, really fascinated about the role of innovation. After which fascinated about learn how to rebuild our core product architecture and merchandising principles, because we do most of our business through brick-and-mortar partners…Those partnerships that we’ve got with brick-and-mortar and omnichannel have been a extremely necessary a part of our growth story.”

With 98 percent of products coming from Europe, mostly Italy, in addition to North America, Milani Cosmetics is found at quite a lot of retailers each online and in stores — Ulta Beauty, Amazon, Goal, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS. Sixty-five percent of Milani Cosmetics consumers are under 44, with 54 percent ages 25 to 45. The brand has attracted that consumer by specializing in key products and innovations in face, lip and eye, while tapping into cultural moments and web conversations. TikTok has been an appealing platform, because of content creators like Mikayla Nogueira providing organic impressions and helping products go viral.

Campaigns have included the #GetReadyWithMilani, a play on the favored “Get Ready With Me” trend, which had greater than 46 million video views. There’s also #NoFilterJustMilani, noticing the backlash AI and AR was getting within the digitalization of faces. It supported a message of “embrace who you’re” while highlighting its “Conceal + Perfect 2-In-1 Foundation and Concealer,” which is available in 45 shades.

It’s asking, “What are the messages you’re bringing at the proper time or wherever that consumer is on their path of purchase?” said Lowenstein.

Product successes include the $10.99 “Keep It Full Nourishing Lip Plumper,” $11.99 “Fruit Fetish Lip Oils,” $11.99 “Anti-Gravity Mascara” and $13.99 “Lash Extensions Mascara.” But topping the list is the $12.99 “Make It Last Setting Spray,” which saw 70 percent growth.

“It’s one among the highest 10 within the category at Walmart,” said van Praag.

“It’s about supporting core categories that we want to play in but additionally fascinated about innovation that we’re seeing and bringing that to market in a timely manner that’s meaningful to the buyer,” added Lowenstein.

The in-store experience is a priory in the intervening time; the brand is strategizing learn how to best present Milani Cosmetics to consumers for ultimate value, including providing a bigger range of existing skus which can be currently sold online.

“It’s a mixture of core architecture, innovation and compelling communication,” said van Praag.