Pie

With fresh funding, Beauty Pie bets that insider pricing will inspire extreme customer loyalty

Thursday, September 9, 2021 by Snacks
That skincare insider glow [stock_colors/E+ via GettyImages]

That skincare insider glow [stock_colors/E+ via GettyImages]

Making Costco blush... Direct-to-consumer beauty buyer’s club Beauty Pie just raised $100M at a reported $1B valuation. Beauty Pie's self-described "Sephora meets Costco" model gives e-shoppers access to marked-down products from the same factories that supply premium cosmetics companies.

  • For $59/year, BP members can buy skincare, makeup, and fragrance goodies for a fraction of their “typical” price. Think: Triple Hyaluronic Acid Elastic Lifting Eye Serum for $12.38 instead of $50.
  • Last year, BP’s members doubled — and so did its sales.

Scrub away the makeup markup... BP founder Marcia Kilgore is the ultimate beauty insider — she also founded Bliss, Remède, and Soap & Glory. Kilgore knows makeup markups are huge — typically 10X the product's production cost. Beauty Pie strips away marketing frills to focus on competitive pricing.

  • Members first: On its site, BP sells the same products to non-member at “typical” full prices — while subscribers pay special “insider prices.”
  • Community vibes: BP's website features members' favorites, like the Wonderscrub Face Polish, and includes BTS industry tips.
THE TAKEAWAY

Shoppers want insider access… and insider deals. Consumers are used to paying retail prices for almost everything, but businesses like Costco and Beauty Pie give them wholesale access. That can inspire long-term loyalty: Beauty Pie’s customer retention rates are 20X higher than other D2C beauty companies — on an elite list of companies that have hit 90%+ member retention rates, including Costco and Amazon.

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