Celebrities are putting the icon in iconic haircare brands. In 2024 alone, we were blessed with Beyoncé's Cécred, Rihanna's Fenty Hair, and Blake Lively's Blake Brown. The surge in celebrity-owned beauty brands is not a passing fad: according to NielsenIQ, the growth of celebrity beauty brands outpaces the growth of other beauty brands.
While it may seem like all our faves are debuting their haircare companies, the haircare industry is actually still underdeveloped compared to other beauty industries. This post explores how Fenty Hair's launch compared to Cécred's, and how both Beyoncé and Rihanna have set new blueprints for how a celebrity brand can sustain success via creator marketing programs.
Check out our report, What Brands Can Learn From Beyoncé’s Cécred, for a deep dive into:
- The potency and community size metrics behind Cécred's launch performance
- The latest on 2024 haircare industry trends in both the U.S. and Europe
- Key takeaways for all brands on how to build brand equity, inspired by the strategies of successful celebrity beauty brands.
Was Cécred's Initial Launch Success about Beyoncé's Star Power?
In February 2024, Beyoncé introduced her long-rumored haircare brand, Cécred. The launch was nothing short of spectacular, with Cécred securing $13.9 million in Earned Media Value (EMV) and climbing to the No. 1 spot on CreatorIQ's U.S. Haircare leaderboard. Additionally, the brand's debut month saw 17.7 million engagements and an impressive 253.9 million impressions. The most popular creator post during Cécred's launch month highlighted Bretman Rock (@bretmanrock on Instagram)'s partnership with Cécred, with the beauty expert sharing life lessons learned from Beyoncé via select song lyrics.
While it's tempting to write off Cécred's success because of its association with a superstar like Beyoncé, it's important to note that Beyoncé's athleisure brand Ivy Park has not enjoyed the same social media success. In February, while Cécred benefited from buzz around Beyoncé's Super Bowl commercial, her Renaissance tours and film, as well as her Cowboy Carter soundtrack drops, the haircare brand outpaced Ivy Park's February performance by a whopping $13.5M EMV and 252.1M impressions.
Beyonce's presence certainly influenced Cécred's debut at the No. 1 spot of the U.S. Haircare leaderboard. However, we can't fully attribute the success of Beyoncé’s haircare brand to her star power, especially when her fashion brand isn't enjoying similar success.
Tina Knowles said it best herself:
"What was really important to us is that Cécred, as a brand, is bigger than her. We didn’t want her to take away the attention of how great the products were. Yes, people buy them because Beyoncé uses them. But she wanted people to really get to know and understand the breadth of the brand before she shared how she herself uses it."
—Tina Knowles to Today
Rihanna's Fenty Hair Debuts With 558.8M Impressions
Just a few months later, in June 2024, Rihanna launched Fenty Hair, which outperformed Cécred's already impressive figures. Fenty Hair raked in a whopping $24.6 million EMV, nearly doubling Cécred's launch month performance. With 47.4 million total engagements, Fenty Hair not only surpassed Cécred, but also set a new standard for social media impact in the haircare industry. Fenty Hair's 558.8 impressions in June totaled more impressions than the No. 2 to No. 5 brands on the U.S Haircare leaderboard combined.
Fenty Hair's launch outshone Cécred's in several key areas. Fenty Hair's EMV was $10.9 million higher than Cécred's, while its engagement figures were nearly three times higher. Fenty Hair did have a unique advantage: the brand benefited from existing sister brands like Fenty Skin and Fenty Beauty, as well as platform features that enabled these brands to co-post. Relatedly, #FentyBeauty ranked as the No. 3 tag for Fenty Hair, drawing in $2.1M EMV in June.
Kristy Sarah (@kristy.sarah on Instagram) led the charge for creator content during Fenty Hair's launch. Kristy shared clips from her interview with Rihanna, as well as a behind-the-scenes look of the moment when her husband saw the fit she was wearing. Overall, Kristy's June content inspired 32.8M impressions.
What Brands Can Learn From Fenty Hair and Cécred
Like Cécred, Fenty Hair experienced a decline in EMV and impressions following its launch month. The brand went from $24.6M EMV to $6.3M in July, and dropped from 558.8M impressions to 51.0M. Stabilization is natural following a launch, and Fenty Hair still enjoyed a stronger July than Cécred ($1.8M EMV and 30.0M impressions), securing an impressive No. 8 position on CreatorIQ’s U.S. Haircare leaderboard.
Related: We spoke to the head of Savage X Fenty's Kaylah Bell, an Influencer Marketing Manager about what goes into powering a top brand like Fenty. Check out the insights here.
Both Cécred and Fenty Hair relied on powerhouse-tier creators (creators with 1M+ followers) to drive online conversation. For Cécred, powerhouses accounted for 14% of its creator community while driving 50% of its February EMV. Meanwhile, Fenty Hair's powerhouses accounted for 11% of its creator community while driving 40% of its EMV.
Leveraging creators with 1M+ followers is a great strategy for sparking extensive reach during a launch month. Both Cécred and Fenty Hair utilized high-profile launch events and strategic partnerships with creators to maximize their impact on social. However, it's unrealistic to expect celebrities to consistently post about your brand at scale. Consequently, both Cécred and Fenty Hair experienced a drop in total EMV following their launch months, indicating that a more evenly distributed creator community contributes to long-term retention and sustained success.
It's important not to overlook the role that personal narrative played in the success of these brands. For many, haircare is deeply personal. Beyoncé's and Rihanna's journeys with their hair have been well-documented, and their brands reflect their personal stories and experiences. For example, Beyoncé shared her natural hair for a #CecredWashDay campaign, putting to bed years of rumors about what her natural hair looked like. Meanwhile, Rihanna discussed how her hair changed as a mom, and how she's had to learn to embrace this evolution.
Why Celebrities Are Breaking into the Haircare Industry
The haircare market presents lucrative opportunities for growth. For established global superstars like Beyoncé and Rihanna, expanding into haircare is a natural progression. Celebrity brands have the advantage of built-in fan bases and significant media attention, which can translate into substantial sales. In 2023 alone, celebrity beauty brands generated over $1 billion in sales, highlighting the sector's potential.
Those entering the space have not just stars like Beyoncé and Rihanna to lean on for inspiration. Tracee Ellis Ross' Pattern Beauty boasts a balanced follower distribution among its creator community over a long period of time. Its consistent performance in the U.S. Haircare leaderboard demonstrates a model for strong social media performance amongst celebrity beauty brands.
We spoke to Christiane Pendarvis, Pattern Beauty Co-CEO and former President of Savage X Fenty, for insights on how she approaches creator marketing. Watch the video for takeaways about building a solid foundation for success.
There’s more than enough room for all those who want to thrive in the haircare industry. As Gabrielle Union (who owns a celebrity haircare line) stated after an appearance at Cécred’s launch party, “Our hair is Cécred,” and taking care of it is a sacred pursuit.