April 21, 2025 • 27 mins
e.l.f. Beauty —a 2025 recipient of the Corporate Responsibility Awards— is the only cosmetics brand to have grownits market share for 24 consecutive quarters, all while being a leader in innovation, diversity, and Fair Trade certification.What lessons can other businesses learn from e.l.f.’sembrace of diversity, sustainability, and affordable products?
Join Steve Odlandand guest Tarang Amin, chairman and CEO of e.l.f. Beauty, to find out how
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Episode Transcript
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Steve Odland (00:00):
Welcome to C-Suite Perspectives, a signature
series by The Conference Board.
I'm Steve Odland, the CEO ofThe Conference Board and the
host of this podcast series.
And in today's conversation, we'regoing to discuss how sustainability
and purpose are built into E.L.F.Beauty's business strategy.
Joining me today is TarangAmin, the chairman and chief
executive officer of E.L.F. Beauty
(00:21):
Tarang, welcome to the show.
Tarang Amin (00:23):
Thank you for having me.
Steve Odland (00:25):
So Tarang, our listeners span the gamut of the C-Suite,
around the country and the world.
Maybe you could just start and tell thema little bit about E.L.F., who you are and
what you do, and then also about yourself.
Tarang Amin (00:37):
Sure.
So E.L.F. Beauty, our mission is tomake the best of beauty accessible
to every eye, lip, and face.
We were founded 20 years ago,or actually over 20 years ago,
with a radical idea of sellingcosmetics over the internet for $1.
Now, this was 2004.
Everyone thought E.L.F. wascrazy, cause this is pre-iPhone.
You couldn't sell cosmetics overthe internet, and you certainly
(00:58):
couldn't make money at a dollar.
But that was our start.
And that disruptive gene hasremained with us ever since.
Even though we've migrated pricepoints, gotten into other different
retail channels, that spirit ofdisruption is very much part of
what E.L.F. Beauty is even today.
In my background, actually,E.L.F. Really appealed to me.
My background is a bit unusual.
(01:19):
I've been in the consumer space forover 34 years, but my start was as an
entrepreneur when I was 14 years old.
Our family was animmigrant family in the US.
We sold our house, took every pennywe had, and we bought our first motel
on Route 1 in Alexandria, Virginia.
And so my start was actually buildingup our family business with my dad.
As great consumer background asI've had, I say everything I learned
(01:41):
about cash flow, economic profit,how you treat people, really came
from those early motel days, buildingup that business with my father.
After grad school, I foundmyself at Procter & Gamble.
I was part of the team thatrelaunched Pantene in the early '90s.
Took a $50 million haircare brand to $2billion and global market leadership.
I've since worked everymajor consumables category.
(02:02):
I've worked everything from food to pet,to home care, laundry, nutritionals.
My first CEO opportunity was actuallya company called Schiff Nutrition,
which we built up and ended up sellingthat company to Reckitt Benckiser.
I've now been CEO of E.L.F.,gosh, 11-and-a-half years.
And I guess my summation is I'mpassionate about building brands.
(02:23):
The best way I know how youbuild brands is you lead the
innovation in the category.
But what I love doing the most isassembling these high-performance teams.
I always brag that in 34 years of beingin the consumer space, I've never had
a business we haven't grown multiplesof where the category is growing.
And I always attribute that to theteam that we are able to assemble
and motivate and operate on thishigh-performance team structure.
Steve Odland (02:44):
So you've been with E.L.F. for roughly half of its existence, and it
was an innovation, a startup essentially,and an internet-only business, which
was, as you said, crazy in the day.
And so you built the companyaround the brands, the quality,
the value, but also purpose.
(03:05):
Talk about how that is all interwoven.
Tarang Amin (03:08):
So we often say we're purpose-led and results-driven,
and they go hand in hand.
As I mentioned, our mission is tomake the best of beauty accessible
to every eye, lip, and face.
And the important word there is "every."So it really frames how we think about the
world, sustainability, and social impact.
And it always goes back to whatwe consider our superpowers.
(03:28):
If you look at our superpowers, weare premium quality at extraordinary
prices with universal appeal thatare not only easily accessible,
but E.L.F. is clean, vegan,cruelty-free and Fair Trade-certified.
That's a mouthful.
And the reason why all thosethings are important is because
of what our community values.
And so we've always been very focusedon how do we best delight our community
(03:49):
and how do we live our values towhat our community appreciates?
Steve Odland (03:54):
Yeah.
And so how do those values interfacewith the products themselves?
So, what is it about your brands and theproducts themselves that have the values
built in and therefore differentiatethem from others in the marketplace?
Tarang Amin (04:08):
I'd say probably the biggest is accessibility.
We don't believe you need to have atrade-off between having premium-quality
or prestige-quality productsand your ability to afford them.
And so we make accessible productsthat consumers otherwise couldn't,
that might cost $40, $50, thatwe can bring in less than $10.
And really being able todemocratize access and democratize
(04:32):
beauty is a key part of what ourmission has always been about.
And so I would say that goes hand in handwith the superpowers I just talked about.
These are values that are important toour community and are really engineered
into every one of our products.
Steve Odland (04:47):
Yeah.
And sustainability is the keyto your strategy, as well.
Talk about that.
Tarang Amin (04:53):
Yeah, so again, we are very much driven by, "What is our
community value?" And we were one ofthe first mass beauty products that
actually became vegan and cruelty-free.
And the reason we did that wasimportant to what our consumers valued.
As we look forward, two of thekey attributes that consumers are
increasingly—particularly our consumers,we're the number one brand among
(05:14):
Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and millennials.
And when you look at that generation,they care about what are the
ingredients in their products, whatis the impact that you're making
from a sustainability standpoint?
So we're very much focused onthose, as well, because that's
what our community values.
Steve Odland (05:30):
And so do you tend to skew to Gen Z?
Tarang Amin (05:34):
We do, we're the number one brand, I think, in the
Piper Sandler survey that kind oftracks teens and their preferences.
We're their number onebrand with a 35% mindshare.
I think the second brand on thatlist has maybe a 9% mindshare.
So we're quite strong with Gen Z,as I said, also the number one brand
among Gen Alpha and millennials.
And sustainability is somethingthat they very much care about.
Steve Odland (05:58):
Yeah, and anyone who knows cosmetics knows that there's
quite a price range and a value range.
You started at a dollar.
I think you're a little higher than that.
But the whole point here is that it's notonly sustainability and accessibility,
but it's also great value products.
Tarang Amin (06:17):
That's right, and that's a really the core of what we're known for.
Like today, our averageunit retails at about $6.50.
That compares to other mass brandsaround $10 and prestige is well over $20.
So it's an extraordinary value,but I think that sometimes people
pay attention to the price point.
What's actually even moreimportant is the quality we're
able to deliver at those prices.
Steve Odland (06:39):
Yeah.
Now this whole ESG world and DEI worldhas been under a little bit of a backlash.
Some of it's political, of course, butthe whole point of ESG is purpose.
And that's how you identify E.L.F.Beauty, as a purpose-driven organization.
It was built around sustainability,built around citizenship, taking all of
(07:02):
your various stakeholders into account.
That's an incrediblebalancing act for you.
How do you keep all of thatin balance so that you're
satisfying all your constituents?
Tarang Amin (07:15):
I think our first value is delighting our community.
So what we always anchor on is,what does our community value?
And one of the things we're quiteintentional about early on is we wanted
our company to reflect our community.
So our team is 74% women, 76% GenZ and millennials, 44% diverse.
(07:37):
Even our board of directors is 67% women.
44% diverse.
We're one of only five publiccompanies in the US that can say that.
And again, the intention iswe want our team to reflect
the community that we serve.
And if we do that, then that's who we are,and that's what we've always been about.
Steve Odland (07:57):
Your corporate strategy is built around all of
these values, and sustainability andpurpose are really your North Star,
I guess, in your corporate strategy.
A lot of people think thatit's either/or, right?
You're either purpose-drivenor you've got this strategy
to build shareholder value.
You've got all of that interwoven intoa fabric that delivers, shareholder
(08:22):
value, delivers results, but deliversit in a way that is balanced, that is
sustainable, that is purpose-driven.
Not many organizations are successful atinterweaving all of that successfully.
Tarang Amin (08:36):
For us, that's always been a little bit perplexing for me, of how
people try to separate out the two.
We are purpose-driven andresults-driven, and they go hand in hand.
In our third quarter, we reported our24th consecutive quarter of both net
sales growth and market share growth.
They go hand in hand.
So I've never understood thisdebate of you pick one or the other.
(09:00):
That is actually how we deliver theresults we have: By having a team that
reflects our community by delightingour community, and that's how we
win in the marketplace and continueto be the strongest-growing beauty
brand or beauty company out there.
Steve Odland (09:15):
Yeah, and that's why I wanted to hit it, because it is really
at the core of this ESG backlash, whichis that you've got certain investor
groups saying, no, you really needto focus on ESG and sustainability.
You have others saying, yeah,you need to do that, but you
also need to deliver results.
And so therefore there's this backlashagainst ESG, whereas the way that
you're doing it is the right way.
(09:36):
It brings it both together and says,no, it's not either/or, it's both.
You have to do both, and youcan do consistent with your
values and your customers.
And you've done so that you are a modelfor all these people are wallowing in it.
And really, congratulations toyou and your team for all of that.
Tarang Amin (09:52):
Thank you.
Steve Odland (09:53):
So have you had to shift your messaging or shift your strategy
at all, given the external landscape?
Tarang Amin (10:01):
No, we haven't.
We haven't.
We've seen a number of companiesthat have backtracked or had to
shift some of their messaging, butfor us, authenticity is the key.
That's what consumers trust E.L.F. in.
We are who we are.
We're all about accessibility.
We're about inclusivity.
We're about the values that we holdthat are important to our community.
So for us, no.
(10:22):
We've stayed the course and,in fact, we've actually doubled
down on those initiatives.
I mentioned our board stats earlier, wherewe're one of only five public companies
that have two-thirds women, 44% diversity.
But the fact is we don't want tobe one of only five public companies
in the US out of nearly 4,100.
So we believe business hasa role for societal good.
(10:44):
And so we have an initiative called Changethe Board Game, where we served up core
facts in terms of just how homogenousmany of America's corporate boards are.
And we are proactively championing greaterdiversity and greater inclusion on boards.
We sponsored 40 different candidatesthrough the National Association of
Corporate Directors Accelerate programto help qualify them for board service.
(11:07):
We've done provocative campaigns thatreally call out the lack of diversity.
And the important thing, this issomething that our community appreciates.
We had one campaign that—picture abillboard that has a bunch of pictures
of a bunch of white guys on it.
And the headline is, "So many dicks,so few of everyone else." And the basic
(11:29):
facts that we uncovered were, there aremore men named Richard, Rick, or Dick on
America's corporate boards than entirepopulations of underserved populations.
Twice the number of Hispanic women,almost the same as black women.
And so our whole point is that there'snothing wrong with being a Richard, Rick,
or Dick, but let's make room for others,and let's have a positive stance there.
(11:50):
So I would say no.
We are more committed than ever tomake sure that we continue to live the
values that have built this business.
Steve Odland (11:59):
Yeah.
Now, innovation has really been core sinceyour founding, a little over 20 years ago.
Innovation started with, let'sgo through a channel that
really is not a channel yet.
And that's internet-only.
That was unique, going todirectly to younger consumers.
And so it's really infiltratedall of your DNA, whether it's
product development or packaging.
(12:21):
Talk about how you leverage innovationand technology to drive sustainability.
Tarang Amin (12:26):
Yeah, I'd say there's three areas that we are really focused on.
The first is that value proposition.
This unique ability of deliveringbetter than prestige quality at
an extraordinary price that makesit accessible to every consumer.
That's really the heart of our innovationengine is, how do you deliver that level
of quality at prices people can afford?
(12:47):
And the second is in formulation.
If I think about the FDA in theUS only excludes 11 ingredients
from cosmetics products.
We don't include 2,500ingredients in our formulation.
And the reason why that's important isour consumers are very conscious of what
are the ingredients in their products.
(13:07):
And the third is in packaging.
Cosmetics tends to be prettypackaging-intensive in terms of amount of
componentry, amount of package materials.
So we've been on a mission toreduce that impact that we've had.
We've got millions of pounds of packagingthat we've eliminated over time, which
not only is better from an environmentalstandpoint, but also improves the
(13:28):
value proposition that we can deliver.
Steve Odland (13:31):
We're talking about E.L.F. Beauty, sustainability, and purpose.
We're going to take a shortbreak and be right back.
Welcome back to C-Suite Perspectives.
I'm your host, Steve Odland,CEO of The Conference Board, and
I'm joined today by Tarang Amin,chairman and CEO of E.L.F. Beauty.
So Tarang, before the break, wewere talking about innovation and
(13:52):
how that has driven the business.
You are not only a US brand, but you'reone of the fastest-growing global brands
out there, consumer product for sure.
And trying to align the valuesand purpose with all of the various
constituencies, but also all of thesedifferent countries and nationalities
(14:16):
and cultures, is very complex.
How do you balance all that?
Tarang Amin (14:20):
I think for us, it's about living our values and our
overall mission of making the bestof beauty accessible, and we see
that resonates across the world.
Every market we go into, we're alreadya top three brand in any new market
that we go into because the realityis, we're quite strong in social media.
And a lot of that feed isconsumed outside the US.
(14:41):
And so there's already pent-updemand for E.L.F. well before we
get into a particular country.
And what we find is the samevalues that our consumers in the
US appreciate—that premium quality,extraordinary prices with clean
formulations that are vegan, cruelty-free,and Fair Trade-certified—actually
resonate around the world.
So for us, it's making sure thatwe're consistent in what we are
(15:03):
delivering to consumers, regardlessof what country they're in.
Steve Odland (15:07):
So outside of the US, do consumers think of E.L.F.
as an American brand, or do theythink about it as a local brand?
Tarang Amin (15:14):
Both.
We are definitely an American brand.
Our roots are in the US, and peopleknow us as an American brand.
A great story on that is, Iremember when we were launching
the brand with Douglas in Italy.
It's a premium retailerin the Italian market.
We said, how much should we customizethis brand for the Italian consumer?
We don't even have any Italian employees.
(15:34):
And they said, not much.
Italians like hot American brands.
Sure enough, the day we launched,there were lines down the block at
every one of the Douglas stores.
And the only debate we had withthem is they told us—one of our
items is a power grip primer.
It's the number one SKU in colorcosmetics across both mass and prestige.
They said, but theItalians don't use primers.
(15:55):
It's that first layer you puton before you put on makeup.
And we said, look, we'rea test-and-learn brand.
Why don't we put it out there?
And if it doesn't do well, we'llsub it out with another SKU.
Sure enough, when we launched, not onlywere we the number one brand with Douglas
Italy—I think our gondola is right nextto Chanel, we very much belong there—but
power grip primer is their number one SKU.
(16:18):
So apparently Italians do use primer.
They just didn't know they needed it.
And you have this great combinationof people already knowing about the
brand and our key items, even if theydidn't exist, that entire category
didn't exist in the Italian market.
And again, it's the number oneitem across all of Douglas.
Steve Odland (16:36):
And being an expert at internet marketing, e-commerce, as we
used to call it, you guys are in touch.
You're communicating throughsocial media and electronic means.
It shrunk the world in everyway—supply chains, but also the world's
consumers look more alike than they dodifferent, regardless of nationality.
And you're really marketingto that and championing that.
Tarang Amin (17:00):
And I think a key part of that is also having a two-way
dialogue with your community.
My chief marketing officersometimes traumatizes me by
dragging me on to TikTok Live.
And she'll say, all right,you've got the boss here.
What do you guys want?
And our community is notshy of what they want.
They'll say, I remember about a yearago, I did a TikTok Live and they
(17:21):
said, "Hey, there's this prestige itemout there, these bronzing drops. We
love 'em, but we can't afford $40."
And I'll look at the chat field andI'll say, "OK, yeah, I got it. You
want some bronzing drops." And there'llbe like another hundred comments.
"No, we want them now, Boss Man.We want those bronzing drops."
Now I'll leave, as I said, a little bittraumatized from that TikTok Live, and
(17:41):
I'll call up my head of innovation andsay, "Oh, please tell me we have that
in our pipeline." and she'll say, "Yeah,we do, but it's 18 months away." And
I'm like, "I can't go on another TikTokLive and hear the community ask for
this again." And we move that launch up.
Within six months, we had them out there.
And so I think that's a key partof our entire proposition is being
very open to what is it that ourcommunity wants and delivering that.
(18:03):
And that, in turn, drivestremendous brand love.
Steve Odland (18:07):
You mentioned a few minutes ago how packaging-intensive
the category is and all thework that you've done there.
If you think about beyond just packaging,your entire supply chain is different
than your competition in the category.
Responsible sourcing, transparency.
Talk about your strategy in thatwhole area and why it's important.
Tarang Amin (18:31):
Yeah, so we do have a unique supply chain.
Traditionally in cosmetics, you eithermanufacture yourself or you use third
parties, and ours is a hybrid model.
So we partner with like-minded supplierswho are willing to make the investments
necessary to advance our business.
And so our suppliers have adoptedour lean manufacturing techniques
to eliminate waste, improvequality as we've gone through.
(18:53):
It's our quality people in thosefacilities, really focused on quality
assurance versus quality control.
We're also the only beauty brandthat's Fair Trade-certified because
we felt, just as these values, it'simportant how we treat our community.
It's also important that the impact toour workers, that they're in facilities
that treat their workers, that wemeasure the environmental impact,
(19:16):
that we make continuous improvements.
And so very much, that partnershipapproach is very much present, and
it's probably the reason why we'rethe only cosmetics company, I think,
85% of our products are made in FairTrade-certified facilities, very much
lives the values that we believe in.
Steve Odland (19:32):
Yeah.
And I think a lot of companies wouldlove to have that, and they scratch
their heads and say, "How do you do that?
So talk about some of the challengesyou faced and how you overcame
that to get everybody aligned.
Tarang Amin (19:45):
I feel it's been a journey.
I go back, and I say, we saw thatconsumers felt cruelty-free was important.
We set out with our suppliers.
I'll say, OK, how do we get outof, for example, our brushes,
animal fibers to synthetic?
And we worked on that together.
And so I'd say the key word hereis "intentionality." Listening to
your community, seeing what theywant, and then working together to
(20:06):
be able to make sure that happens.
Same with Fair Trade-certified.
Fair Trade was not presentin the beauty industry.
And so we partnered with Fair TradeUSA and said, all right, let's create
an entirely different standard byhow do we measure these facilities?
How do we make sure the workerconditions are right, that we're
paying attention to the environmentalfootprint of our manufacturing process?
And so, the intentionality of we cando, we feel we can do anything we set
(20:30):
our minds to, but we need to take thatintention and put the actions against it.
Steve Odland (20:36):
I think this is an important point, cause a lot of people look at where
they are and you know where they'd liketo be, where you are and they go, "Wow
that's just a bridge too far." And theygive up on it rather than understanding.
You didn't get there overnight,you didn't snap your fingers,
you did it one step at a time.
And you got there over a long time.
And you got there by integratingthis business strategy with
(20:58):
your values and everything.
To people who are listeningwho may not be all the way to
E.L.F. Beauty standards, it's OK.
You can get there.
You just have to do it intentionally.
You have to want to do it, and youhave to start taking the journey.
And I think that's what you're saying.
Tarang Amin (21:14):
Absolutely.
And I think for us the first stepis always we measure any initiative
we're doing by our community's values.
Is it something that ourcommunity appreciates?
Is it something they want?
And then let's use continuous improvement.
Let's start.
You got to start somewhere, and then howdo you improve upon that year after year?
And that's what's gottenus to where we are.
Steve Odland (21:35):
You used a word right there a minute ago m that you measure things,
and that's also something that peopleassume that, in sustainability and in
this world, it's either/or, and it's not.
Because you can achieve allthat, but you have to measure it.
And measuring the impact ofwhat you're doing is important
to E.L.F. Beauty, as well.
(21:56):
Talk about what milestones do youuse, and how do you track the progress?
Tarang Amin (22:02):
Yeah, so I'd say back to this false debate of "it's either purpose
or it's results." We start with results.
So we measure our results, as I mentioned,24 consecutive quarters of not only net
sales growth, but we're the only cosmeticscompany, out of a thousand, or cosmetics
brands out of a thousand, that have grownmarket share 24 consecutive quarters.
(22:22):
So first it starts with, what areyour overall business results?
Then we look at the sub-metrics (22:26):
Are we making progress across each of
the core areas that matter to us?
So I look at our value proposition.
Are our value scores increasing?
I look at our quality.
One of the things I'm most proud of is10 consecutive years, we've taken up
our quality scores every single year.
We look at, obviously, theimpact on what we're doing.
(22:47):
If I look at our lightweighting andpackaging reduction goals, if I look
at overall product scores, we lookat each of those things, but it starts
first and foremost with results.
What we're doing, does it actually showup in both the top and bottom line?
Steve Odland (23:03):
So looking ahead to coming years, what's next?
It sounds like you'rethere, you've done it all.
You've hit all your metrics, 24consecutive, how do you keep
going, and how do you motivateeverybody to do this continuous
improvement when you're at the top?
Tarang Amin (23:22):
We are never done.
And the whole point ofcontinuous improvement is you're
always trying to get better.
And one big enabler for us is we'realso big believers in ownership.
So we're unique in the beautyspace in that we grant equity to
every single employee every year.
And we're not shy about talkingabout meaningful wealth creation.
(23:43):
We want to align the interestsof our employees with that of our
shareholders in terms of the long term.
So everyone has a piece of the pie andsomething at stake, and so very motivated
to continue to make improvements,continue to delight our community.
And that's really what our focus is.
Steve Odland (24:01):
Yeah.
And had you quit at the top,you would've quit 20 years ago.
That's what it is.
And it's really hard when you set asales record or you achieve the best
or the top or better on any metric.
It's motivating yourself, as wellas your teams, to go beyond that.
And I think that's really core.
(24:21):
You don't talk about it, as such,but I really think it's core to
E.L.F. Beauty's long-term success.
Tarang Amin (24:28):
Absolutely.
In fact, it's funny.
I've been CEO 11-and-a-half years.
Every time I get a new candidate,I tell him, "Oh my God, you're
joining us at the exact right momentbecause we're just getting started."
And I fundamentally believe that.
And often what we hire for is culture.
We hire for people whoare humble and hungry.
Who have an incredible curiositythat we feel can continue to
(24:50):
learn, continue to make us better.
And as long as we have that mentalityand have an entire company full of
employees who want to get better,who want to learn, who want to
see how we can make things better,then that is incredibly energizing.
Steve Odland (25:04):
So just in closing, then, for our listeners who would love to
help create their own purpose-drivenchange in their organizations,
what advice would you give them?
How do you start?
Tarang Amin (25:17):
I'd say the first step is always, are you being reflective
of what your community's values are?
Are you giving them and delightingthem with what they want?
So I always start first, obviouslyhaving been in the consumer space for
over 30 years, to start with your "Whoare you trying to serve, and what's
important to them?" And once you knowthat, then take it one step at a time.
Say, "OK, here's what you do."
(25:38):
When we first started, we didn'tknow how to be cruelty-free.
We didn't know how to formulatewithout 2,500 ingredients, but
we started somewhere, and we keptmaking improvements as we went along.
But it's always been that focuson, "Who are you serving, and
how do you best serve them?"
Steve Odland (25:51):
Tarang,
thanks for being with us todayand sharing the story of E.L.F.
Beauty and all your success.
Tarang Amin (25:59):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Steve Odland (26:01):
And thanks to all of you for listening to C-Suite Perspectives.
I'm Steve Odland, and this series has beenbrought to you by The Conference Board.
Welcome to C-Suite Perspectives, a signature
series by The Conference Board.
I'm Steve Odland, the CEO ofThe Conference Board and the
host of this podcast series.
And in today's conversation, we'regoing to discuss how sustainability
and purpose are built into E.L.F.Beauty's business strategy.
Joining me today is TarangAmin, the chairman and chief
executive officer of E.L.F. Beauty
(00:21):
Tarang, welcome to the show.
Tarang Amin (00:23):
Thank you for having me.
Steve Odland (00:25):
So Tarang, our listeners span the gamut of the C-Suite,
around the country and the world.
Maybe you could just start and tell thema little bit about E.L.F., who you are and
what you do, and then also about yourself.
Tarang Amin (00:37):
Sure.
So E.L.F. Beauty, our mission is tomake the best of beauty accessible
to every eye, lip, and face.
We were founded 20 years ago,or actually over 20 years ago,
with a radical idea of sellingcosmetics over the internet for $1.
Now, this was 2004.
Everyone thought E.L.F. wascrazy, cause this is pre-iPhone.
You couldn't sell cosmetics overthe internet, and you certainly
(00:58):
couldn't make money at a dollar.
But that was our start.
And that disruptive gene hasremained with us ever since.
Even though we've migrated pricepoints, gotten into other different
retail channels, that spirit ofdisruption is very much part of
what E.L.F. Beauty is even today.
In my background, actually,E.L.F. Really appealed to me.
My background is a bit unusual.
(01:19):
I've been in the consumer space forover 34 years, but my start was as an
entrepreneur when I was 14 years old.
Our family was animmigrant family in the US.
We sold our house, took every pennywe had, and we bought our first motel
on Route 1 in Alexandria, Virginia.
And so my start was actually buildingup our family business with my dad.
As great consumer background asI've had, I say everything I learned
(01:41):
about cash flow, economic profit,how you treat people, really came
from those early motel days, buildingup that business with my father.
After grad school, I foundmyself at Procter & Gamble.
I was part of the team thatrelaunched Pantene in the early '90s.
Took a $50 million haircare brand to $2billion and global market leadership.
I've since worked everymajor consumables category.
(02:02):
I've worked everything from food to pet,to home care, laundry, nutritionals.
My first CEO opportunity was actuallya company called Schiff Nutrition,
which we built up and ended up sellingthat company to Reckitt Benckiser.
I've now been CEO of E.L.F.,gosh, 11-and-a-half years.
And I guess my summation is I'mpassionate about building brands.
(02:23):
The best way I know how youbuild brands is you lead the
innovation in the category.
But what I love doing the most isassembling these high-performance teams.
I always brag that in 34 years of beingin the consumer space, I've never had
a business we haven't grown multiplesof where the category is growing.
And I always attribute that to theteam that we are able to assemble
and motivate and operate on thishigh-performance team structure.
Steve Odland (02:44):
So you've been with E.L.F. for roughly half of its existence, and it
was an innovation, a startup essentially,and an internet-only business, which
was, as you said, crazy in the day.
And so you built the companyaround the brands, the quality,
the value, but also purpose.
(03:05):
Talk about how that is all interwoven.
Tarang Amin (03:08):
So we often say we're purpose-led and results-driven,
and they go hand in hand.
As I mentioned, our mission is tomake the best of beauty accessible
to every eye, lip, and face.
And the important word there is "every."So it really frames how we think about the
world, sustainability, and social impact.
And it always goes back to whatwe consider our superpowers.
(03:28):
If you look at our superpowers, weare premium quality at extraordinary
prices with universal appeal thatare not only easily accessible,
but E.L.F. is clean, vegan,cruelty-free and Fair Trade-certified.
That's a mouthful.
And the reason why all thosethings are important is because
of what our community values.
And so we've always been very focusedon how do we best delight our community
(03:49):
and how do we live our values towhat our community appreciates?
Steve Odland (03:54):
Yeah.
And so how do those values interfacewith the products themselves?
So, what is it about your brands and theproducts themselves that have the values
built in and therefore differentiatethem from others in the marketplace?
Tarang Amin (04:08):
I'd say probably the biggest is accessibility.
We don't believe you need to have atrade-off between having premium-quality
or prestige-quality productsand your ability to afford them.
And so we make accessible productsthat consumers otherwise couldn't,
that might cost $40, $50, thatwe can bring in less than $10.
And really being able todemocratize access and democratize
(04:32):
beauty is a key part of what ourmission has always been about.
And so I would say that goes hand in handwith the superpowers I just talked about.
These are values that are important toour community and are really engineered
into every one of our products.
Steve Odland (04:47):
Yeah.
And sustainability is the keyto your strategy, as well.
Talk about that.
Tarang Amin (04:53):
Yeah, so again, we are very much driven by, "What is our
community value?" And we were one ofthe first mass beauty products that
actually became vegan and cruelty-free.
And the reason we did that wasimportant to what our consumers valued.
As we look forward, two of thekey attributes that consumers are
increasingly—particularly our consumers,we're the number one brand among
(05:14):
Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and millennials.
And when you look at that generation,they care about what are the
ingredients in their products, whatis the impact that you're making
from a sustainability standpoint?
So we're very much focused onthose, as well, because that's
what our community values.
Steve Odland (05:30):
And so do you tend to skew to Gen Z?
Tarang Amin (05:34):
We do, we're the number one brand, I think, in the
Piper Sandler survey that kind oftracks teens and their preferences.
We're their number onebrand with a 35% mindshare.
I think the second brand on thatlist has maybe a 9% mindshare.
So we're quite strong with Gen Z,as I said, also the number one brand
among Gen Alpha and millennials.
And sustainability is somethingthat they very much care about.
Steve Odland (05:58):
Yeah, and anyone who knows cosmetics knows that there's
quite a price range and a value range.
You started at a dollar.
I think you're a little higher than that.
But the whole point here is that it's notonly sustainability and accessibility,
but it's also great value products.
Tarang Amin (06:17):
That's right, and that's a really the core of what we're known for.
Like today, our averageunit retails at about $6.50.
That compares to other mass brandsaround $10 and prestige is well over $20.
So it's an extraordinary value,but I think that sometimes people
pay attention to the price point.
What's actually even moreimportant is the quality we're
able to deliver at those prices.
Steve Odland (06:39):
Yeah.
Now this whole ESG world and DEI worldhas been under a little bit of a backlash.
Some of it's political, of course, butthe whole point of ESG is purpose.
And that's how you identify E.L.F.Beauty, as a purpose-driven organization.
It was built around sustainability,built around citizenship, taking all of
(07:02):
your various stakeholders into account.
That's an incrediblebalancing act for you.
How do you keep all of thatin balance so that you're
satisfying all your constituents?
Tarang Amin (07:15):
I think our first value is delighting our community.
So what we always anchor on is,what does our community value?
And one of the things we're quiteintentional about early on is we wanted
our company to reflect our community.
So our team is 74% women, 76% GenZ and millennials, 44% diverse.
(07:37):
Even our board of directors is 67% women.
44% diverse.
We're one of only five publiccompanies in the US that can say that.
And again, the intention iswe want our team to reflect
the community that we serve.
And if we do that, then that's who we are,and that's what we've always been about.
Steve Odland (07:57):
Your corporate strategy is built around all of
these values, and sustainability andpurpose are really your North Star,
I guess, in your corporate strategy.
A lot of people think thatit's either/or, right?
You're either purpose-drivenor you've got this strategy
to build shareholder value.
You've got all of that interwoven intoa fabric that delivers, shareholder
(08:22):
value, delivers results, but deliversit in a way that is balanced, that is
sustainable, that is purpose-driven.
Not many organizations are successful atinterweaving all of that successfully.
Tarang Amin (08:36):
For us, that's always been a little bit perplexing for me, of how
people try to separate out the two.
We are purpose-driven andresults-driven, and they go hand in hand.
In our third quarter, we reported our24th consecutive quarter of both net
sales growth and market share growth.
They go hand in hand.
So I've never understood thisdebate of you pick one or the other.
(09:00):
That is actually how we deliver theresults we have: By having a team that
reflects our community by delightingour community, and that's how we
win in the marketplace and continueto be the strongest-growing beauty
brand or beauty company out there.
Steve Odland (09:15):
Yeah, and that's why I wanted to hit it, because it is really
at the core of this ESG backlash, whichis that you've got certain investor
groups saying, no, you really needto focus on ESG and sustainability.
You have others saying, yeah,you need to do that, but you
also need to deliver results.
And so therefore there's this backlashagainst ESG, whereas the way that
you're doing it is the right way.
(09:36):
It brings it both together and says,no, it's not either/or, it's both.
You have to do both, and youcan do consistent with your
values and your customers.
And you've done so that you are a modelfor all these people are wallowing in it.
And really, congratulations toyou and your team for all of that.
Tarang Amin (09:52):
Thank you.
Steve Odland (09:53):
So have you had to shift your messaging or shift your strategy
at all, given the external landscape?
Tarang Amin (10:01):
No, we haven't.
We haven't.
We've seen a number of companiesthat have backtracked or had to
shift some of their messaging, butfor us, authenticity is the key.
That's what consumers trust E.L.F. in.
We are who we are.
We're all about accessibility.
We're about inclusivity.
We're about the values that we holdthat are important to our community.
So for us, no.
(10:22):
We've stayed the course and,in fact, we've actually doubled
down on those initiatives.
I mentioned our board stats earlier, wherewe're one of only five public companies
that have two-thirds women, 44% diversity.
But the fact is we don't want tobe one of only five public companies
in the US out of nearly 4,100.
So we believe business hasa role for societal good.
(10:44):
And so we have an initiative called Changethe Board Game, where we served up core
facts in terms of just how homogenousmany of America's corporate boards are.
And we are proactively championing greaterdiversity and greater inclusion on boards.
We sponsored 40 different candidatesthrough the National Association of
Corporate Directors Accelerate programto help qualify them for board service.
(11:07):
We've done provocative campaigns thatreally call out the lack of diversity.
And the important thing, this issomething that our community appreciates.
We had one campaign that—picture abillboard that has a bunch of pictures
of a bunch of white guys on it.
And the headline is, "So many dicks,so few of everyone else." And the basic
(11:29):
facts that we uncovered were, there aremore men named Richard, Rick, or Dick on
America's corporate boards than entirepopulations of underserved populations.
Twice the number of Hispanic women,almost the same as black women.
And so our whole point is that there'snothing wrong with being a Richard, Rick,
or Dick, but let's make room for others,and let's have a positive stance there.
(11:50):
So I would say no.
We are more committed than ever tomake sure that we continue to live the
values that have built this business.
Steve Odland (11:59):
Yeah.
Now, innovation has really been core sinceyour founding, a little over 20 years ago.
Innovation started with, let'sgo through a channel that
really is not a channel yet.
And that's internet-only.
That was unique, going todirectly to younger consumers.
And so it's really infiltratedall of your DNA, whether it's
product development or packaging.
(12:21):
Talk about how you leverage innovationand technology to drive sustainability.
Tarang Amin (12:26):
Yeah, I'd say there's three areas that we are really focused on.
The first is that value proposition.
This unique ability of deliveringbetter than prestige quality at
an extraordinary price that makesit accessible to every consumer.
That's really the heart of our innovationengine is, how do you deliver that level
of quality at prices people can afford?
(12:47):
And the second is in formulation.
If I think about the FDA in theUS only excludes 11 ingredients
from cosmetics products.
We don't include 2,500ingredients in our formulation.
And the reason why that's important isour consumers are very conscious of what
are the ingredients in their products.
(13:07):
And the third is in packaging.
Cosmetics tends to be prettypackaging-intensive in terms of amount of
componentry, amount of package materials.
So we've been on a mission toreduce that impact that we've had.
We've got millions of pounds of packagingthat we've eliminated over time, which
not only is better from an environmentalstandpoint, but also improves the
(13:28):
value proposition that we can deliver.
Steve Odland (13:31):
We're talking about E.L.F. Beauty, sustainability, and purpose.
We're going to take a shortbreak and be right back.
Welcome back to C-Suite Perspectives.
I'm your host, Steve Odland,CEO of The Conference Board, and
I'm joined today by Tarang Amin,chairman and CEO of E.L.F. Beauty.
So Tarang, before the break, wewere talking about innovation and
(13:52):
how that has driven the business.
You are not only a US brand, but you'reone of the fastest-growing global brands
out there, consumer product for sure.
And trying to align the valuesand purpose with all of the various
constituencies, but also all of thesedifferent countries and nationalities
(14:16):
and cultures, is very complex.
How do you balance all that?
Tarang Amin (14:20):
I think for us, it's about living our values and our
overall mission of making the bestof beauty accessible, and we see
that resonates across the world.
Every market we go into, we're alreadya top three brand in any new market
that we go into because the realityis, we're quite strong in social media.
And a lot of that feed isconsumed outside the US.
(14:41):
And so there's already pent-updemand for E.L.F. well before we
get into a particular country.
And what we find is the samevalues that our consumers in the
US appreciate—that premium quality,extraordinary prices with clean
formulations that are vegan, cruelty-free,and Fair Trade-certified—actually
resonate around the world.
So for us, it's making sure thatwe're consistent in what we are
(15:03):
delivering to consumers, regardlessof what country they're in.
Steve Odland (15:07):
So outside of the US, do consumers think of E.L.F.
as an American brand, or do theythink about it as a local brand?
Tarang Amin (15:14):
Both.
We are definitely an American brand.
Our roots are in the US, and peopleknow us as an American brand.
A great story on that is, Iremember when we were launching
the brand with Douglas in Italy.
It's a premium retailerin the Italian market.
We said, how much should we customizethis brand for the Italian consumer?
We don't even have any Italian employees.
(15:34):
And they said, not much.
Italians like hot American brands.
Sure enough, the day we launched,there were lines down the block at
every one of the Douglas stores.
And the only debate we had withthem is they told us—one of our
items is a power grip primer.
It's the number one SKU in colorcosmetics across both mass and prestige.
They said, but theItalians don't use primers.
(15:55):
It's that first layer you puton before you put on makeup.
And we said, look, we'rea test-and-learn brand.
Why don't we put it out there?
And if it doesn't do well, we'llsub it out with another SKU.
Sure enough, when we launched, not onlywere we the number one brand with Douglas
Italy—I think our gondola is right nextto Chanel, we very much belong there—but
power grip primer is their number one SKU.
(16:18):
So apparently Italians do use primer.
They just didn't know they needed it.
And you have this great combinationof people already knowing about the
brand and our key items, even if theydidn't exist, that entire category
didn't exist in the Italian market.
And again, it's the number oneitem across all of Douglas.
Steve Odland (16:36):
And being an expert at internet marketing, e-commerce, as we
used to call it, you guys are in touch.
You're communicating throughsocial media and electronic means.
It shrunk the world in everyway—supply chains, but also the world's
consumers look more alike than they dodifferent, regardless of nationality.
And you're really marketingto that and championing that.
Tarang Amin (17:00):
And I think a key part of that is also having a two-way
dialogue with your community.
My chief marketing officersometimes traumatizes me by
dragging me on to TikTok Live.
And she'll say, all right,you've got the boss here.
What do you guys want?
And our community is notshy of what they want.
They'll say, I remember about a yearago, I did a TikTok Live and they
(17:21):
said, "Hey, there's this prestige itemout there, these bronzing drops. We
love 'em, but we can't afford $40."
And I'll look at the chat field andI'll say, "OK, yeah, I got it. You
want some bronzing drops." And there'llbe like another hundred comments.
"No, we want them now, Boss Man.We want those bronzing drops."
Now I'll leave, as I said, a little bittraumatized from that TikTok Live, and
(17:41):
I'll call up my head of innovation andsay, "Oh, please tell me we have that
in our pipeline." and she'll say, "Yeah,we do, but it's 18 months away." And
I'm like, "I can't go on another TikTokLive and hear the community ask for
this again." And we move that launch up.
Within six months, we had them out there.
And so I think that's a key partof our entire proposition is being
very open to what is it that ourcommunity wants and delivering that.
(18:03):
And that, in turn, drivestremendous brand love.
Steve Odland (18:07):
You mentioned a few minutes ago how packaging-intensive
the category is and all thework that you've done there.
If you think about beyond just packaging,your entire supply chain is different
than your competition in the category.
Responsible sourcing, transparency.
Talk about your strategy in thatwhole area and why it's important.
Tarang Amin (18:31):
Yeah, so we do have a unique supply chain.
Traditionally in cosmetics, you eithermanufacture yourself or you use third
parties, and ours is a hybrid model.
So we partner with like-minded supplierswho are willing to make the investments
necessary to advance our business.
And so our suppliers have adoptedour lean manufacturing techniques
to eliminate waste, improvequality as we've gone through.
(18:53):
It's our quality people in thosefacilities, really focused on quality
assurance versus quality control.
We're also the only beauty brandthat's Fair Trade-certified because
we felt, just as these values, it'simportant how we treat our community.
It's also important that the impact toour workers, that they're in facilities
that treat their workers, that wemeasure the environmental impact,
(19:16):
that we make continuous improvements.
And so very much, that partnershipapproach is very much present, and
it's probably the reason why we'rethe only cosmetics company, I think,
85% of our products are made in FairTrade-certified facilities, very much
lives the values that we believe in.
Steve Odland (19:32):
Yeah.
And I think a lot of companies wouldlove to have that, and they scratch
their heads and say, "How do you do that?
So talk about some of the challengesyou faced and how you overcame
that to get everybody aligned.
Tarang Amin (19:45):
I feel it's been a journey.
I go back, and I say, we saw thatconsumers felt cruelty-free was important.
We set out with our suppliers.
I'll say, OK, how do we get outof, for example, our brushes,
animal fibers to synthetic?
And we worked on that together.
And so I'd say the key word hereis "intentionality." Listening to
your community, seeing what theywant, and then working together to
(20:06):
be able to make sure that happens.
Same with Fair Trade-certified.
Fair Trade was not presentin the beauty industry.
And so we partnered with Fair TradeUSA and said, all right, let's create
an entirely different standard byhow do we measure these facilities?
How do we make sure the workerconditions are right, that we're
paying attention to the environmentalfootprint of our manufacturing process?
And so, the intentionality of we cando, we feel we can do anything we set
(20:30):
our minds to, but we need to take thatintention and put the actions against it.
Steve Odland (20:36):
I think this is an important point, cause a lot of people look at where
they are and you know where they'd liketo be, where you are and they go, "Wow
that's just a bridge too far." And theygive up on it rather than understanding.
You didn't get there overnight,you didn't snap your fingers,
you did it one step at a time.
And you got there over a long time.
And you got there by integratingthis business strategy with
(20:58):
your values and everything.
To people who are listeningwho may not be all the way to
E.L.F. Beauty standards, it's OK.
You can get there.
You just have to do it intentionally.
You have to want to do it, and youhave to start taking the journey.
And I think that's what you're saying.
Tarang Amin (21:14):
Absolutely.
And I think for us the first stepis always we measure any initiative
we're doing by our community's values.
Is it something that ourcommunity appreciates?
Is it something they want?
And then let's use continuous improvement.
Let's start.
You got to start somewhere, and then howdo you improve upon that year after year?
And that's what's gottenus to where we are.
Steve Odland (21:35):
You used a word right there a minute ago m that you measure things,
and that's also something that peopleassume that, in sustainability and in
this world, it's either/or, and it's not.
Because you can achieve allthat, but you have to measure it.
And measuring the impact ofwhat you're doing is important
to E.L.F. Beauty, as well.
(21:56):
Talk about what milestones do youuse, and how do you track the progress?
Tarang Amin (22:02):
Yeah, so I'd say back to this false debate of "it's either purpose
or it's results." We start with results.
So we measure our results, as I mentioned,24 consecutive quarters of not only net
sales growth, but we're the only cosmeticscompany, out of a thousand, or cosmetics
brands out of a thousand, that have grownmarket share 24 consecutive quarters.
(22:22):
So first it starts with, what areyour overall business results?
Then we look at the sub-metrics (22:26):
Are we making progress across each of
the core areas that matter to us?
So I look at our value proposition.
Are our value scores increasing?
I look at our quality.
One of the things I'm most proud of is10 consecutive years, we've taken up
our quality scores every single year.
We look at, obviously, theimpact on what we're doing.
(22:47):
If I look at our lightweighting andpackaging reduction goals, if I look
at overall product scores, we lookat each of those things, but it starts
first and foremost with results.
What we're doing, does it actually showup in both the top and bottom line?
Steve Odland (23:03):
So looking ahead to coming years, what's next?
It sounds like you'rethere, you've done it all.
You've hit all your metrics, 24consecutive, how do you keep
going, and how do you motivateeverybody to do this continuous
improvement when you're at the top?
Tarang Amin (23:22):
We are never done.
And the whole point ofcontinuous improvement is you're
always trying to get better.
And one big enabler for us is we'realso big believers in ownership.
So we're unique in the beautyspace in that we grant equity to
every single employee every year.
And we're not shy about talkingabout meaningful wealth creation.
(23:43):
We want to align the interestsof our employees with that of our
shareholders in terms of the long term.
So everyone has a piece of the pie andsomething at stake, and so very motivated
to continue to make improvements,continue to delight our community.
And that's really what our focus is.
Steve Odland (24:01):
Yeah.
And had you quit at the top,you would've quit 20 years ago.
That's what it is.
And it's really hard when you set asales record or you achieve the best
or the top or better on any metric.
It's motivating yourself, as wellas your teams, to go beyond that.
And I think that's really core.
(24:21):
You don't talk about it, as such,but I really think it's core to
E.L.F. Beauty's long-term success.
Tarang Amin (24:28):
Absolutely.
In fact, it's funny.
I've been CEO 11-and-a-half years.
Every time I get a new candidate,I tell him, "Oh my God, you're
joining us at the exact right momentbecause we're just getting started."
And I fundamentally believe that.
And often what we hire for is culture.
We hire for people whoare humble and hungry.
Who have an incredible curiositythat we feel can continue to
(24:50):
learn, continue to make us better.
And as long as we have that mentalityand have an entire company full of
employees who want to get better,who want to learn, who want to
see how we can make things better,then that is incredibly energizing.
Steve Odland (25:04):
So just in closing, then, for our listeners who would love to
help create their own purpose-drivenchange in their organizations,
what advice would you give them?
How do you start?
Tarang Amin (25:17):
I'd say the first step is always, are you being reflective
of what your community's values are?
Are you giving them and delightingthem with what they want?
So I always start first, obviouslyhaving been in the consumer space for
over 30 years, to start with your "Whoare you trying to serve, and what's
important to them?" And once you knowthat, then take it one step at a time.
Say, "OK, here's what you do."
(25:38):
When we first started, we didn'tknow how to be cruelty-free.
We didn't know how to formulatewithout 2,500 ingredients, but
we started somewhere, and we keptmaking improvements as we went along.
But it's always been that focuson, "Who are you serving, and
how do you best serve them?"
Steve Odland (25:51):
Tarang,
thanks for being with us todayand sharing the story of E.L.F.
Beauty and all your success.
Tarang Amin (25:59):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Steve Odland (26:01):
And thanks to all of you for listening to C-Suite Perspectives.
I'm Steve Odland, and this series has beenbrought to you by The Conference Board.
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