Sephora Accelerate

Brand Incubation Focused on Founders of Color

Sephora Accelerate is a brand incubation program dedicated to building a community of innovative, inspirational brand founders in beauty. With a focus on founders who are people of color, in line with our commitment to the 15 Percent Pledge, our goal is to ensure there are brands in the beauty industry representative of the colors, races, and ethnicities that make up the Americas.

Founders will embark on a six-month journey where they’ll gain the necessary skills to build and sustain a successful business through consistent, cohesive, and ongoing support backed by digital and in-person resources with content and curriculum directly correlated to helping founders succeed at Sephora.

In addition, brands will have the unique experience of building a heart-and-soul connection to our community and its ecosystem, as well as the opportunity of a lifetime—launching with Sephora, the world’s largest beauty retailer.

Apply Now

Applications for Sephora Accelerate 2023 are now closed.

About the Program

What do I need to apply?
- Eligibility requirements: Applicants must lead a North America-incorporated beauty brand company, be founded or co-founded by a person who is at least 18 years old and must be an early-stage brand not yet widely distributed.
  
  If selected, you must be able to attend the program in its entirety (6 months; January-June)
  
  Application: In the application you’ll be asked to respond to questions around eligibility, tell us more about your brand, record and submit a short video, and be prepared to share product samples if asked.

What does the selection process look like?
- - There are a variety of criteria our team uses to make the final selection including, but not limited to:
    1. Vision: Do you have the passion needed to make your business successful?
    2. Innovation: What is differentiated about your brand or product? What can you offer clients that they currently cannot find elsewhere?
    3. Product: Do you have a working prototype that has been iterated on at least once to incorporate user feedback? (I.e., product sample, goop.) and/or have proven interest in your product (i.e., sales, customers, etc.)
  - Brands will be notified via email whether they’ve been selected or not.

What can a participant expect to get out of the program?
- As an Accelerate brand, you’ll learn directly from industry experts, beauty brand founders, Sephora leaders and gain access to a host of resources to optimize your retail readiness and boost your brand.

"At Sephora, we strive to inspire change for the beauty industry at large by taking a leadership position in further diversifying our product assortment. We are committed to leveraging the powerful skill sets and expertise of our internal teams, as well as external advisors, to help build an eco-system that supports the unique needs of our diverse brands."

“I’m so excited for the journeys you all are on. It’s truly awesome. I wish I had this when I was coming up. It would have been game-changing."

“It’s a really fun creation process together. I trust my Sephora merchants with my life. You can trust them. Sephora is obsessed with brand founders, our vision, supporting us, and making our dreams come true. Any brand founder who has a chance like this has won the lottery. I hope you have so much fun.”

"Glow Recipe wouldn't be where it is today if not for our partnership with Sephora. As an indie brand, it meant the world to us that Sephora believed in our vision and supported us. We love brainstorming and strategizing with the merchants and truly appreciate how involved they are in nurturing our business. Having gone through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, we are incredibly passionate about mentoring young entrepreneurs and sharing the learnings from our journey. Thanks Sephora for providing this meaningful program!"