Dispatch From Napa: Speaking to the Heart and Soul of the Beauty Industry

NEW YORK — This week, The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2025 took place in Napa Valley, California. Our speakers and guests came from 17 countries — as far away as Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, South Africa, India and Sweden — to share their personal journeys, their business insights and their plans for navigating a beauty industry in flux.

Across a wide range of topics, expertly curated by executive editor Priya Rao, our Global Forum touched on a variety of subjects that spoke not just to the nuts and bolts of building and sustaining a beauty business, but also to the hearts and souls of everyone who joined us, creating a sense of shared humanity and solidarity amid the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown taking place not far away in Los Angeles.

In a defiant call to action, Lindsay Toczylowski, president and co-founder of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, shared the story of Andry José Hernández Romero, a 31-year-old Venezuelan makeup artist who was seeking asylum in the US before he was deported to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador. Toczylowski explained why the deportation of undocumented immigrants without due process is a direct attack on democracy.

“The moment that we stop talking about Andry, about his story and others like him is the moment that the Trump administration is successful in completing the disappearance of Andry José Hernández Romero,” she said.

Over the course of the two days we spent together, we also examined the findings of the second edition of The State of Fashion: Beauty report and gauged the untapped potential of AI on the beauty industry during our Knowledge Breakfasts, participated in breathwork classes and group workout sessions led by our friends Manoj Dias and Joe Holder, and exchanged ideas and personal stories over intimate meals under the midnight sky.

Our two headliners Hailey Bieber and Tracee Ellis Ross may have been what helped draw the crowds and media attention, but not only did Hailey and Tracee demonstrate the same kind of passion, dedication and obsession of all true founders, they also helped bring deserved awareness and appreciation to scores of other executives, founders and creatives who are making their mark in beauty.

This was especially true for our finalists for The Business of Beauty Global Awards 2025, supported by L’Oréal Groupe and Sephora. Now in its second year, the Global Awards expanded to recognise six founders across three categories: Creative Execution, Business Innovation and Positive Impact in two tracks: emerging businesses with less than $2 million in annual revenues and breakthrough businesses with up to $10 million in revenue.

In the end, our gongs went to Akt London, Commune, Manasi 7, Ruka, Unifrom and Yse Beauty. We look forward to sharing in-depth profiles of these budding entrepreneurs and their businesses next week on The Business of Beauty.

And this week on The BoF Podcast, I’m pleased to share Priya’s conversation with Hailey Bieber, her first live conversation since selling her business to E.l.f. in a $1 billion deal last month.

There’s no doubt this is just the beginning for The Business of Beauty. I could not be more proud of our entire team. In three short years, they have made this the most meaningful and sought-after event in the global beauty industry. We’re already thinking about how to make next year’s Global Forum even better.

Have a great weekend,

Imran Amed, Founder and Editor in Chief

Below are my top picks from our analysis on fashion, luxury and beauty this week:

1. Garment Workers Are at Risk. Fashion Can’t Afford to Look Away. The Trump administration is rapidly stepping up immigration raids in US cities, touching off protests and legal challenges. Even if brands aren’t willing to weigh in publicly, they need a plan to support their workforce.

2. The State of Fashion: Beauty Report — Solving the Growth Puzzle. Beauty’s era of effortless growth is giving way to a more complex landscape. Download the second volume of BoF and McKinsey & Company’s industry report to learn how to navigate evolving consumer expectations, market deceleration and regional volatility in the years ahead.

3. How to Acquire Customers with Instagram Ads in 2025. As paid marketing on Meta gets cheaper and easier to target customers, brands are getting more strategic about the content that attracts consumers at different points in their shopping journey.

4. Why Chanel Is Getting Into the Recycling Business. The French luxury giant is launching a new circularity focused venture with investments in waste management and recycling companies, much as it has bought up top-end ateliers in a decades-long push to future-proof its supply chain.

5. Why Lace and Crochet Are Everywhere Right Now. Brands from Magda Butrym to Chloé are appealing to shoppers with delicate handwork that’s nostalgic and romantic, providing a contrast to fast fashion and the minimalism of quiet luxury.

This Weekend on The BoF Podcast

When Hailey Bieber launched her beauty and skincare brand Rhode in 2022, it quickly built a loyal customer base and achieved rapid commercial success. By early 2025, Rhode had generated $212 million in annual sales and, in May, was acquired by E.l.f. Beauty in a landmark $1 billion deal.

“Rhode is not just about the product; it’s the whole entire world of Rhode. I want people to feel something when they get the products. When they use it, I want them to feel that they are a part of something,” Bieber shared this week at The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2025 in Napa Valley, California. “I really do see us being a legacy brand. Rhode is going to go down as one of the greats.”

In her first public appearance since the acquisition, Hailey spoke with The Business of Beauty’s executive editor Priya Rao about launching her brand, how the deal with E.l.f. transpired, and her vision for the future of Rhode.

To receive this email in your inbox each Saturday, sign up to The Daily Digest newsletter for agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice that you won’t find anywhere else.