Dealflow Dive: BeautyMatter Index 1H 2025

Presenter: John Cafarelli, Co-Founder + President, BeautyMatter

Amid heightened macro volatility, the beauty industry's investment landscape has shifted from a frenzy of overvalued start-ups to a more calculated pursuit. We’ll look at 1H and the buzzy Q2 transactions that have the market hopeful that activity will ramp up.

 

Global Market Dynamics and Future Impact

Presenter: Irina Barbalova, Global Lead, Beauty and Wellness, Euromonitor International

As consumers move towards more value-driven consumption and increasingly embedded wellness-oriented behaviors, the industry’s growth trajectory reveals underlying resilience and pockets of opportunity across emerging market expansion, premiumization, and innovation. 

 

Past, Present, Future: Decoding Consumer Signals 

Presenter: Yarden Horwitz, Co-Founder, Spate

Dive into how beauty consumer behavior is shifting through the lens of Google and TikTok data. From longevity to dopamine beauty, uncover the trends shaping the category, learn where consumers have been, and where to place your bets next.

 

The Current Cadence of Product Positioning

Presenter: Sarah Jindal, Senior Director, Beauty and Personal Care, Americas, Mintel 

The industry is navigating evolving product, category, and channel shifts. An analysis of newness, pricing, and claims aims to frame the dynamics of the market and inform future new product development and marketing.

 

Leadership Round Table 

Presenters:

Deanna Kangas, President, Strategic Growth Consulting

Reuben Carranza, Group CEO, Bansk Beauty 

Millie Kendall O.B.E., CEO, British Beauty Council 

Nicolas Geiger, Founding Partner, REDO Ventures

The ability to read the market when data and perceptions are often sending conflicting signals will determine the outcome for many. Our panel doesn't have a crystal ball, but they have lived experience navigating business cycles. 

 

The State of North America Mass + Prestige Channels 

Presenter: Larissa Jensen, Senior Vice President, Global Beauty Industry Advisor, Circana

The macro landscape presents a complex mix of factors that will shape industry dynamics for both mass and prestige. Leverage retailer point-of-sale and consumer data dive into sales and insights for a forward-looking perspective for how to navigate uncertainties.

 

Indie Beauty Download 

Presenter: Anna Mayo, Vice President, Beauty Vertical, NielsenIQ

Indie beauty continues to be a bright spot, with these challenger brands outpacing growth rates of their conglomerate counterparts. We’ll delve into the trends that will impact the future success of indies, including tariffs and pricing, retailer distribution, and consumer purchasing.

 

AI: Where We Are and Where We're Going 

Presenter: Chaz Giles, Managing Partner, Alida Labs

AI is dominating every boardroom. In this presentation, we’ll do two things: Catch you up on what’s happened in the last six months—what matters, what’s noise, and what’s next. Give you a playbook for the next 6-12 months—how to think, plan, and lead in a world where AI is foundational.

 

Looking Forward: Signals, Trends, and Noise

Presenter: Kelly Kovack, Founder + CEO, BeautyMatter 

Trend cycles continue to gain momentum, conflating what's trending with actual trends. In an era of contradiction, dissonance, and volatility not everything that counts can be measured. We will attempt to surface what matters.

 

Retail Round Table

The landscape is evolving at breakneck speed serving consumers who are no longer constrained by borders or defined by channels. New competitive pressures are converging to transform the way brands and retailers operate. A candid conversation of experts will help translate the current state of beauty retail.