The beauty industry, often viewed as glamorous and alluring from the outside, has its fair share of stories that reveal a less-than-welcoming reality. The exclusion of founders, brands and customers that deviate from Western beauty standards is well-documented. Anonymous industry Instagram accounts and Reddit threads share tales of exclusionary practices in the workplace and a recent survey found 70% of black women feel underserved by the beauty industry.
As a Taiwanese American woman, I am by no means an “only” in the beauty industry, but I have been othered. My experiences with exclusion and toxic behavior have shaped both how I view the beauty industry and Erleia’s strategy as a natural skincare brand.
Erleia
When Othering Sparks Transformation
Last year, after being othered at a trade show, I reflected upon the experience and contrasted it with one of Erleia’s key values: inclusion. I realized that growing a skincare and self care brand along the so-called traditional beauty path might not be the best fit for us, which led me to reassess our goals and strategies.
Ultimately, this led to broadening our horizons. Instead of fixating on launching our products within beauty-specific retailers, we’ve used our experience and recent data to expand our focus to partnering with retailers that carry health and beauty products — including stores in the natural grocery, gift and travel channels. Our goal shifted from fitting into a pre-defined beauty narrative to creating our own narrative in spaces that embrace diversity and inclusion.
This shift led us to landing our first grocery placement, building connections with new independent retailers, and next week, we will be showcasing our brand alongside other minority-owned CPG brands at the largest event in the natural, organic and health products industry. While it might seem counterintuitive, this shift has also allowed us to focus more on what we’re doing to grow Erleia and spend less time analyzing external trends.
Looking Ahead
Being othered was challenging and the beauty industry is still in need of change, but my experience was a catalyst for resilience and innovation. As an entrepreneur, it made me question norms and redefine success on our own terms. The beauty landscape is constantly evolving, and staying true to my identity and our brand values continue to shape Erleia’s journey and reinforce the importance of embracing diversity in every aspect of our brand.
This is a content marketing post from a Forbes EQ participant. Forbes brand contributors’ opinions are their own.
