Merit: The Clean Beauty Brand Creating a Unique Niche in the Beauty Industry

April 12, 2023 : Merit, a clean beauty brand that offers smart, minimalist beauty solutions, has disrupted the beauty industry since its launch in 2021. It has created a new category by blending the prestige of luxurious packaging and intuitive design with high-performance, clean ingredients, all at an affordable price. The brand has remained attentive to the demands of millennial consumers while boasting cross-generational appeal. Over 50% of its website visitors are aged between 25 and 45. Merit’s founding senior vice president, Aila Morin, explains that the mission was to bridge the gap between busy consumerism, what consumers were using, and what beauty marketing looked like. Merit focused exclusively on the US and Canada when it first launched, demonstrating its intentionality before making any move.

The company’s skincare line, Great Skin™️ serum, was launched in October 2022 and quickly became a success, with one serum sold every three minutes. The company prides itself on owning its data and relationships with consumers, which has contributed to the success of its products. It has a 50/50 split between direct-to-consumer and retail sales, and Merit is currently available in almost 400 Sephora locations.

The beauty industry has undergone significant changes in the last decade, and new upstarts have emerged, challenging legacy brands with a fresh approach to marketing, distribution, and ingredients. Merit’s success is rooted in its easy-to-use products and “impossible to mess up” formulas. The brand’s newest launch, Shade Slick Gelées, is an extension of the successful Shade Slick tinted lip oils. With Merit’s continued innovation and the success of its products, it is now positioned to become the next generation of prestige beauty brands.

Morin shares, “Our consumer is buying routines, truly a collection to get ready in the morning, as opposed to a single product.” This strategy means Merit has an even distribution across products, which is rare in the beauty industry. The company’s growth and meteoric rise have come when buyers’ financial uncertainty is high, making its attainable and affordable products even more appealing. The brand has expanded to the UK, and its success proves that Merit has earned its place in the beauty industry on its Merit.