Stuti Gokhale
In ‘Shark Tank‘ season 13 episode 14, Alicia Scott sought an investment deal from one of the Sharks for her company named Range Beauty. It manufactures a line of special beauty products that have been created to cater to the needs of people of color with sensitive, acne and eczema-prone skin. With its vegan and cruelty-free products made with the choicest ingredients, Range Beauty aims to start a revolution in the beauty industry and make it a more inclusive space. Here is everything you need to know about the inspiring origins and growth of Range Beauty!
Range Beauty: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
Alicia Scott, the brain behind Range Beauty, was raised in Brooklyn and graduated from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Merchandising. Since childhood, she wished to own a business and found her inspiration from her personal experience. Alicia grew up with an allergy to cosmetics and developed eczema in college, which hindered her from applying any cosmetics due to the presence of talc, dyes, and fragrances.
Furthermore, Alicia worked in the fashion industry at several marketing positions and had close interactions with models while organizing fashion shows and press shoots. She observed that the models of color brought and did their own makeup. Upon asking, Alicia found that the makeup artists were not equipped with the appropriate shades of products and lacked the skills needed to work on darker skin tones. In addition, in a report by the Journal of the Dermatology Nurses’ Association (JDNA), she discovered that more than a third of Black women suffer from acne and other skin problems.
All these problems with cosmetics fueled Alicia’s plan to start a range of skin-friendly makeup. In 2014, she moved to Sandy Springs, Atlanta, for better business opportunities. In 2017, she started researching online and came across the website Cosmetic Index. From there, she finally zeroed down on a woman-owned manufacturing company that creates fully natural cosmetics and began working with her on cosmetic formulas with unique ingredients like French clay, calendula flower, and chamomile extract.
Soon, Alicia used the final formula for a starter kit and produced several shades of brown foundation in her own home, which is eczema free and specifically made for sensitive and darker skin tones. After designing the packaging and registering an LLC, she launched the company under the name of Skinny Dip Cosmetics in 2017, with an initial cost of $300. After generating a revenue of $1,000 in the first three months, Alicia began building a customer base online on Twitter and Instagram.
When a prominent influencer praised Alicia’s product on Twitter and shared her post with the phrase “Now that’s what you call Range,” the young entrepreneur got the idea of rebranding and relaunching the products. Thus, the company was relaunched as Range Beauty in 2018.
Where is Range Beauty Now?
After the relaunch of her line as Range Beauty, Alicia Scott began participating in pitching and grant competitions for receiving funding. She was one of the two winners of a $5,000 grant competition by YouTube star Jackie Aina and went on to participate in a pitch competition by the Fearless Fund, which later became one of Range Beauty’s biggest investors.
After the feedback received from the competition, Alicia decided to shift the messaging of her product to focus on its skincare and eczema-friendly aspects. Post that, she received a sum of $200,000 as her first investment from a pitch competition. Moreover, she has won $50,000 in grant money with her fantastic pitching skills and product. Range Beauty further expanded its range by adding primers, face powders, and body oils made of natural ingredients to the line of products.
All cosmetics are available on the company website as well as in Target’s online store, which noticed Alicia in 2019 and welcomed her on board in 2020. In 2019, she also quit her job at an IT staffing firm to fully focus on Range Beauty’s growth. A major contributor to the company’s success was the Black Lives Matter movement, which catapulted Range Beauty’s status as an African-American and female-owned business. Within three years of its inception, Range Beauty generated a whopping revenue of $367,000 by the end of 2020.
At present, Alicia has several offices in Sandy Springs, Atlanta, and has expanded her employee base. Furthermore, Range Beauty has been spotlighted by Beyonce on her website. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a few supply chain problems for the company that led to revenue regression. But Alicia seems to have overcome the hiccups as her company is going from strength to strength. All the products of Range Beauty are priced between drugstore and premium brands to create a balance between quality and value for money.
The products offered include the True Intentions Bronzing Primer that comes in ten shades, that will cost you $22. One of their bestsellers is the True Intentions Hydrating Foundation, with 21 unique shades priced at $25 each. There are several saving offers available on the website as well, such as Shark Tank Bundles ranging between $69 to $105, and free shipping above $60 purchases. The products are also expected to arrive soon on Amazon. With the innovative formulas and benefits of the products and Alicia’s smart endeavors, Range Beauty is expected to grow exponentially.
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