How to Create a Brand like Rihanna: Fenty Beauty’s Growth Strategy

Rihanna has always stunned us with her songs, iconic hairstyles, and fashion sense. Now added to the list are her brands, Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty. 

The launch of Fenty Beauty created a huge splash, and it has gained a unique place in the beauty world since then. It filled an enormous gap in the beauty industry and met many people’s needs, which is one of the most determining reasons for its success.

Let’s break down the formulation behind the love and customer loyalty shown for Fenty Beauty over the years.

Key Takeaways

• Rihanna waited for over two years until she was confident in the quality of her products. Fenty Beauty was launched during NY Fashion Week.
• And now, with the Super Bowl approaching, it released a football-themed Game Day Collection.
• he brand owes much of its recognition to social media. Since day one, it has encouraged and relied on online reviews and word-of-mouth marketing.

Smart Partnership 

Rihanna’s partnership with Kendo Beauty under LVMH, a luxury fashion brand, has made up a considerable rate of the brand’s success. Thanks to this partnership, its launch happened in 17 countries at the exact same time, ready to ship over to 137 countries—currently 200. 

The partnership with LVMH also made it possible to run both physical and online campaigns. For example, Sephora, a cosmetics retailer also under LVMH, made the global distribution of the products easy.

No Compromise on Quality

A good marketing strategy will bring your brand up, but if your products and service lack quality, it will take only so far. 

Rihanna waited 2 years before launching Fenty Beauty until she was satisfied with the products and confident in their formulations. She leveraged her fame to promote the products, as she should, yet didn’t base her business strategy solely on her fame, unlike some other celebrity brands. Instead, she focused on further improving the quality of products and services. That’s why the business is still up and going with so many loyal customers all over the world.

Inclusive & Appreciating Diversity

It was a struggle for many years to find cosmetics for dark skin. Although Fenty isn’t the first to release a wide range of shades, currently 59, it has become a trailblazer for many other brands due to its unique effect.

What distinguished Fenty Beauty from the others, however, was the pricing and authenticity. Compared to other high-end products, the prices are pretty budget-friendly, making it accessible to many people with different economic backgrounds. 

Also, you don’t see a mere type of model on both Fenty Beauty and Fenty X Savage’s websites and social media accounts. It works with oversized models, including plus-size men, to showcase the products, appealing to people with all body types.

Social Media Presence

Fenty encourages and relies on online reviews and word-of-mouth marketing heavily. For its launch party in September 2017, it invited many people from around the world, sent them home with make-up kits and encouraged them to share their opinions on social media.

The brand leverages social proof by sharing customer reviews and videos, primarily influencers. Fenty owes much of its recognition to social media and influencers. With almost 12 million followers, Fenty Beauty’s Instagram account is pretty active and creates campaigns over different channels.

Use Your Own Products

Rihanna is the most prominent advocate for Fenty Beauty and proudly presents herself wearing its products. That shouldn’t be underestimated because it’s a crucial factor in convincing people. Letting them know that you use your own products shows that you are confident in them and their quality. 

Rihanna herself promotes her brand on her personal account by sharing make-up tutorials, skincare routines, and appealing photos of her products. She also blesses us with her photos in Savage X Fenty lingeries. In short, she’s capitalising her fame to promote and grow her brand, not in a cheesy and factitious way, but candidly and authentically.

Stay Relevant and Up to Date

From the beginning, Fenty Beauty has trusted in the power of time. It was first launched during the New York Fashion Week, and it sure was deliberate. She live streamed the opening at Time Square and shared the excitement of people who joined her outside Sephora.

And now, with the Super Bowl approaching, Fenty Beauty released a football-themed Game Day Collection. Adding that Rihanna will be performing for Halftime Show this year, this collection has indeed been a blast. 

Create a Unique Experience

The beauty industry faces a challenge with eCommerce because it is a highly shared concern among customers whether a product will match their skin type or skin tone. Therefore, creating a stress-free customer experience and a seamless journey is especially important for beauty eCommerce websites.

Fenty Beauty ensures that by implementing a shade finder, a virtual try-on plugin, and even a virtual consultation service with beauty advisors on their website. That way, customers don’t have to go to the store to find the perfect match for their features, and they will be more prone to purchase as they find a suitable product without losing so much time.

In addition, the website leverages pop-ups, discount offers and countdown plugins, resulting in less friction and optimised customer journeys. 

CX Personalisation

Another must-have solution for the challenge mentioned above is personalising the customer experience. Among a myriad of options, visitors might spend a long time and get lost while looking for what they are looking for or simply a product that would spark their interest. Make use of the visitor’s past purchases and past behaviours to make to-the-point recommendations that will save customers time.