Ilia is looking to leverage its strength in the lip category with its latest launch.
The “clean” makeup and skin care pioneer, founded in 2011 by Sasha Plavsic and acquired in 2022 by the Courtin-Clarins family’s holding company Famille C, is getting into gear with its latest introduction: Overglaze Hydrating Lip Gloss, $26, which will debuting Tuesday on the brand’s website before rolling out to Sephora and Ulta Beauty.
The introduction is part of the brand’s doubling down on what has become a key category for its business: its Lip Sketch lip crayon sells once every 45 seconds. Industry sources indicate Ilia reached $200 million in revenue for 2024, and is expected to double that number in the following five years.
“Our bestsellers are our eye shadow, our skin tint, our mascara, our Lip Sketch. These are all products that are ranked in retail as the top ones in their categories,” said Plavsic, who declined to comment on the numbers. “We’re especially strong in complexion and mascara, and those two categories generally contain the most loyal customers that will do a repeat purchase. Lip for us is equally as important.”
When Plavsic first started planning the brand’s launch at Sephora, lip comprised 60 percent of the business. Just a year later, it became only 2 percent of overall sales. “We hadn’t focused on it, and now we’re looking to build up and reclaim some market share in the category we used to be strong in,” she said.
For the lip gloss, “I wanted to ensure we had something to be able to marry back to Lip Sketch so we have a beautiful formula. The experience of gloss is so important,” she said.
The product is also part of Ilia’s own broadening of its consumer base. “When I started, I was initially formulating some of our first products on my skin, which was younger, oilier and more acne-prone, and my mom’s, which was mature, older, drier. I wanted to ensure we could have products that would stretch,” Plavsic said.
Currently, Ilia’s core customer is roughly 35 to 45 years old, but “There is definitely a multigenerational aspect to the brand that is not trend-focused and is more product-focused. That builds trust at any age,” Plavsic said. “There is a mom coming in who’s roughly my age, and she brings her kids in and they want to have a clean mascara or blush or a lip product.”
That’s among the strategic priorities from the brand, which also includes going deeper in existing international markets, and evaluating new ones to enter where appropriate.
“About a year ago, we brought in a new CEO, Paul Schiraldi, who came from Murad,” said Plavsic. “There are strategic decisions that had to be made. We opened Ulta last year, and we’re putting more of a focus into the U.K. We’re exploring some of the other markets.”
Consumer perception of “clean” beauty has evolved since the brand’s 2011 debut, though Plavsic said the Ilia’s value proposition was still resonating.
“When I think of the clean category, it’s not just who I’m competing with,” said Plavsic. “I’m competing with every brand in-store. For example, our mascara is a number-one mascara not just in clean, but in store. It goes back to the product, how it wears, how it feels, how it works, ensuring there’s a connection to the customer that way.”
