Bubble built for Walmart shelves, not its own site.
Bubble launched in 2020 under $20, picked Walmart as its first retailer and now sells in 17,000 doors. Its founder says most sales happen in stores.
BLOOM10X did not work with Bubble Skincare. This breakdown uses public sources only, linked below.
Bubble is independent and majority-owned by its founder. It sells mostly through stores, not its own site. Figures are company-stated.
What the public figures add up to.
Five things Bubble did on purpose.
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Price for the mass aisle
Bubble set out to sell prestige-quality skincare at mass prices (3). Its site sells “skincare under $20”, and its Slam Dunk moisturizer is $16 (4).
Copy this: price for the shelf your buyer already shops, then make the pack look worth twice that.
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Walmart first, on purpose
Most major retailers approached Bubble in its first four weeks. Eisenman picked Walmart, saying 90% of the US lives within 30 minutes of one (2). Target, Ulta and CVS followed (3).
Copy this: choose the first retailer by where your buyer shops on a weekday, not by prestige.
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The community writes the brief
Ambassadors pick names, packaging and mood boards, and a product moves to production only with 90% approval (2). Bubble researches with them every two weeks (3). In 2023 the program had 7,000 members and a 41,000-person waitlist (1).
Copy this: put the next launch to a vote of your best customers and set a pass mark before you look.
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TikTok as the store’s ad
In 2023 all of Bubble’s TikTok reach was organic, and Walmart store sales doubled in January after a user’s video went viral (1). Eisenman calls shoppers who research online and buy in store “the new DTC consumer” (3).
Copy this: track store sales by week next to your social posts, and credit content for the lift.
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Paid ads point at the retailer
On Nov 10, 2026, 10 of Bubble’s 20 active Meta ads linked to ulta.com, mostly for Ulta-only holiday sets. Eight linked to hellobubble.com (5).
Copy this: make a set only one retailer sells, then run your own ads to that retailer’s product page.
“Most of our sales happen in-store and in retail and Walmart and CVS and Ulta.”
A community loop that ends on a shelf.
2023 vs 2025–26
The retail-first loop
“Ask the community. They will tell you exactly what they want.”
The $16 moisturizer page sells routines.
Tap a number to see what it does.
- 1Reviews before the name.4.9 stars from 10,616 reviews sit above “Slam Dunk”.
- 2One clear price.$16 for the full 1.7 oz jar, set large next to the name.
- 3Who it’s for, in three icons.Normal to dry skin, AM and PM, and “Safety tested on ages 9+”.
- 4Sticky add to cart.A bar with the jar and “Add to cart · $16” follows the scroll.
- 5A cheaper way in.Full 1.7 oz or a 1.0 oz mini, listed at $10 in the page’s routine block.
- 6Subscribe tagged “Popular”.One-time purchase stays selected; subscribe and save 10% shows $14.40.
- 7Routine, not a single jar.“Pairs best with” a $17 cleanser and $17 serum, then a four-step “Build Your Routine”.
Our math: $16 × 0.9 = $14.40 on subscribe · cleanser $17 + serum $17 + moisturizer $16 = $50 for the three-step routine, about 3× the jar alone.
Their ads now
The Ad Library showed about 20 active US ads on the Bubble page on Nov 10, 2026, all started between Oct 19 and Nov 10. Ten linked to ulta.com, eight to hellobubble.com and two to Instagram.
A set no other store sells.
“A $63 value for $48 … Limited edition, only at Ulta.” Headline “The gift they’ll ask for by name”, linking to ulta.com. Our math: $15 off, 23.8%.
The price gap is the pitch.
“3 of our lip serums … $36 value for $22. Get yours at Ulta.” The same set also runs to hellobubble.com as “3 for less than the price of 2”. Our math: $14 off, 38.9%.
The hero in a gift finish.
Slam Dunk in limited gold as “Winning Ticket”, $16, with an upsell in the same copy: “Big Barrier, 6 full-size products, $86 of skincare for $70.” Links to hellobubble.com.
The full routine in one bag.
Six full-size products, cleanser to lip balm, “$70 for all 6”, on hellobubble.com. Our math: $16 off an $86 value, 18.6%.
Copy this: if a retailer carries you, give it an exclusive set and send your own paid traffic there in gifting season.
How a retailer-bound gift ad is built.
Our wireframe of the pattern in its 10 Ulta-bound ads (Nov 7–9, 2026), built from their copy and cards, not their footage.
- 1Hook: the buyer’s problem, not the skin’s“Skip the gift card this year.” “The older they get, the harder they are to shop for.”
- 2Name the set, list the contentsTriple Trick is “3 of our lip serums”; Show Stopper is cleanser, mist and moisturizer in a caddy.
- 3Value math in the copy“$63 value for $48”, “$36 value for $22”. The saving does the selling.
- 4Say where to buyEvery one of the 10 names Ulta in the copy, from “Get yours at Ulta” to “only at Ulta”.
- 5Headline as the gift promise“Better than a gift card” or “The gift they’ll ask for by name”, then Shop now to ulta.com.
Three official Bubble Shorts.
What we’d do differently.
- Bubble ran out of stock as demand rose in 2023 (1). Mass retail needs inventory cash first; we’d model it before the first purchase order.
- Many ambassador applicants are under 18 and need parent consent (1). For an adult brand, a customer panel from your email list is faster.
- Its cost of goods sits close to prestige, which makes deep discount channels hard (3). We’d check margin before any discount-led channel.
Six Bubble moves for a $1M–$10M Shopify brand.
- Run every launch past a customer panel and kill anything under your pass mark. Email and retention
- Reply to comments and repost customer videos before you buy reach. Creator seeding
- Write gift ads around the buyer’s problem and put the value math in the copy. Static ads
- Bundle the routine on the product page so one jar becomes three. Raise AOV
- Add a sticky add-to-cart bar on mobile product pages. Conversion
- Before a retail deal, model margin after the retailer’s cut and the inventory it ties up. Contribution margin calculator
Where every number comes from.
- “‘They love being heard’: How Bubble built an avid fan base via TikTok and brand ambassadors.” Modern Retail, Jul 24, 2023. modernretail.co
- “Bubble Skincare’s $100 Million Formula: Community First and Joy as a KPI.” BeautyMatter, Nov 19, 2025. beautymatter.com
- “Bubble Founder Shai Eisenman On Winning Across Generations, Gen Alpha And Not Selling (For Now).” Beauty Independent, Jun 11, 2026. beautyindependent.com
- Slam Dunk Hydrating Moisturizer product page, mobile. Bubble, seen Nov 10, 2026. hellobubble.com
- Bubble page, active US ads. Meta Ad Library, seen Nov 10, 2026. facebook.com/ads/library
- Bubble Shorts of Oct 16, Oct 28 and Nov 5, 2026. YouTube, views seen Nov 10, 2026. youtube.com
