A Case Study
It is not hard to imagine that every celebrity, after little to medium fame, wants to launch their own brand. Hailey Bieber did the same in 2022, she launched Rhode, after her middle name, and curated a line of vegan, cruelty-free skincare products.
Fast-forward three years.
Rhode hit Sephora stores across Canada and the U.S., and TikTok immediately lost its mind with the launch era. Endless waitlists, sell-outs, and GRWM routines were all we could see on social media.
Then the honeymoon phase ended.
For a while, sales spiked, but so did returns. Customers had many mixed reviews. Around the same time, e.l.f. Beauty announced a $1 billion acquisition of Rhode, which, let’s be honest, was one of the reasons Rhode came to Sephora in the first place.
From a Branding Lens
Pros: Hailey is the brand
Rhode’s visual identity is Hailey’s personal aesthetic: glazed skin, slick buns, glossy lips. Hailey’s face, lifestyle, and routine are the moodboard and the marketing strategy.
Cons: Hailey Bieber is the brand
Where Hailey goes, Rhode follows, including PR drama, public appearances, etc.
Challenge: Innovate beyond Hailey’s initial aesthetic without losing its DNA.
Post-acquisition, e.l.f. did a smart thing. They positioned Hailey as Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation to keep her central with the products. In 2024, Rhode’s earned media value (EMV) reached $248M+, mainly driven by organic influencer content rather than paid advertising.
That kind of easy influencer-led growth is exactly why legacy beauty conglomerates want to acquire brands like this instead of trying to build them from scratch.
Rhode vs Other Celeb Brands
Celebrity beauty is booming.
In 2023 alone, celebrity-founded beauty brands generated over $1B in sales and grew faster than the overall beauty market. But success in this category comes with a problem: It’s oversaturated.
From a psychology standpoint, consumers may say:
“Oh, another celebrity brand… is it actually good or just vibes?”
That’s why when Rhode moved from “it girl brand” to “serious player,” it drew more attention.
A Question for the Creative Director
Many celebrity brands start out as unique, but when trying to capture a bigger market, they adopt a default look of many brands. From a branding standpoint, scaling while staying “minimalist and trendy” is hard but not impossible
It’s the same crisis that Glossier, Fenty, and others went through: as awareness grows, so does scrutiny.
Even Instagram critics joke that Rhode is basically a clean-girl bathroom-selfie brand. The lipstick lesbians on IG point to the lip peptides and the phone case as proof; it’s a brand built for the mirror.
It’s established: Rhode launched on Hailey’s hyper-curated “glazed-donut skin” aesthetic, and it worked.
But can this aesthetic sustain the brand for the next five years?
So… Is Rhode “Dying” or Just Leveling Up?
Let’s look at the real stats:
Sales: strong and growing.
EMV & search: top of category.
Strategic validation: $1B acquisition by a major player.
Honest answer: Rhode isn’t dying, it’s shifting from hype brand to established, scaled brand.
What Rhode Needs for Long-Term Survival
Right now, the brand walks a fine line between “affordable luxe” and “price-premium skincare.” This is the time they innovate or lose it.
But this can’t be done until they position their brand as responsible and not just for aesthetics. Aesthetics can only take you so far.
Rhode must:
- Move beyond “Hailey’s skin looks amazing, trust us” marketing.
- Recognize that most customers do not share Hailey’s skin type (young, normal/dry, low-texture).
- Introduce clinical results and dermatologist-backed testing.
- Show real diversity: age, texture, melanin levels, acne-prone skin, mature skin.
- Build a real founder story people can connect with.
- Establish hero SKUs backed by research and innovation
Without this shift, Rhode risks becoming predictable, not innovative.
