Brand breakdown · Beauty

Rhode grew on few products, each launched like a drop.

Hailey Bieber’s brand sold only on rhodeskin.com until Sephora in 2025. Its summer 2026 launch drew 700,000+ waitlist sign-ups and $27M in one day. e.l.f. Beauty owns it now.

BLOOM10X did not work with Rhode. This breakdown uses public sources only, linked below.

From one website to Sephora
  1. 2022Launches on rhodeskin.com only
  2. Sep 2023Peptide Lip Tints, its first color product
  3. Feb 2024The Lip Case puts the lip balm on your phone
  4. May 2025e.l.f. agrees to pay up to $1B
  5. Fall 2025Sephora in North America and the UK
  6. 2026700,000+ waitlist, $27M in one day
$212MNet sales in the 12 months to Mar 31, 2025, all from its own sitee.l.f. Beauty · May 2025
$1BDeal value: $800M at close plus up to $200M over three yearse.l.f. Beauty · May 2025
700,000+Waitlist sign-ups for the summer 2026 launchForbes · Sep 2026
$27MDTC sales from that launch in one dayForbes · Sep 2026
The numbers

A launch day worth $27M.

3.8xUpfront price over trailing net salesOur math: $800M ÷ $212M = 3.77e.l.f. Beauty · May 2025
4.7xWith the full earnout paidOur math: $1B ÷ $212M = 4.72e.l.f. Beauty · May 2025
≤$38.57Launch-day DTC sales per waitlist sign-upOur math: $27M ÷ 700,000; more sign-ups means lessForbes · Sep 2026
<30%Of launch-day sales from new customers, 90,000 of themOur math: 100% − “more than 70%” from existing buyersForbes · Sep 2026
+68%Earned media value in 2025, No. 1 US skincare brand two years runningCreatorIQ, via Forbes · Sep 2026
59Active US Meta ads on the rhode pageMeta Ad Library · Nov 10, 2026

Summer 2026 launch

700,000+ waitlist sign-ups $27M in DTC sales, one day 90,000 new customers Share of launch-day sales Existing 70%+New Bar at the 70/30 floor Forbes reported.
Source: Forbes, Sep 9, 2026, from Rhode cofounder Lauren Ratner.

Every price under $45

$45 freeshipping Peptide lip treatment$20 Peptide lip shape$24 Glazing mist$30 Glazing milk$32 Lip case$38
Prices on rhodeskin.com product pages, Nov 10, 2026. Bars to scale; the dashed line is the $45 free-shipping threshold.
The plays

Five plays behind the growth.

  1. Make one of everything

    The homepage reads “Edited, efficacious, intentional.” Bieber’s note on the about page promises “one of everything really good” (rhodeskin.com). With that short range it sold $212M in a year from one website (e.l.f., May 2025).

    Copy this: launch one hero product at a time and give each its own moment, not a catalog drop. Creative →

  2. Build the waitlist before the launch

    The summer 2026 collection had Rhode’s largest waitlist, over 700,000 sign-ups, and did $27M in DTC sales in a day. 90,000 buyers were new; more than 70% of sales came from existing customers (Forbes, Sep 2026). Sold-out pages swap the buy button for “Join the Waitlist”.

    Copy this: collect emails and texts for a dated launch, then sell to that list first. Retention →

  3. Turn the product into an accessory

    The Lip Case (February 2024) holds a lip treatment on the back of a phone, and a September 2026 blush hangs from a bag charm (Forbes). The $38 case fits 13 iPhone models and takes 10% off a lip product bought with it (rhodeskin.com).

    Copy this: find the add-on that makes your hero visible in public and price it as a pair. Raise AOV →

  4. Surround sound, a few times a year

    Cofounder Lauren Ratner calls it “surround sound”: gifting totes for creators, yellow shipping boxes, a beach club in Mallorca, an R-shaped kiosk touring five cities. Rhode was the No. 1 US skincare brand by earned media value in 2025, up 68% (Forbes, citing CreatorIQ).

    Copy this: pick three or four launch moments a year and seed creators for each one, instead of posting at the same level every week. Creator seeding →

  5. Take retail once demand is proven

    Rhode stayed on its own site until Sephora in North America and the UK (e.l.f.). Less than a year later it was Sephora’s bestselling brand in the US, Canada and UK, and it has announced 19 European countries (Forbes, citing The Business of Fashion).

    Copy this: go to retail with your own sell-through data, and check the margin after the retailer’s cut first. Margin calculator →

“You can’t do it every month.”
Lauren Ratner, cofounder, on big launch moments, Forbes, Sep 9, 2026
The buy box

A $20 product page that sells the routine.

Screenshot: Rhode peptide lip treatment page on mobile with an Allure award badge, 17,819 reviews, five scent swatches, a Buy lip treatment 20 dollar button, Afterpay, a limit of 10 per customer, and a Complete your routine list with lip shape, glazing milk and lip case.
  1. 1
    Third-party proof firstAn Allure Best of Beauty 2022 badge beside the name.
  2. 2
    A big review count4.5 stars from 17,819 reviews on a $20 product.
  3. 3
    Flavors, not shadesFive scents, from rhode vanilla to watermelon slice: a reason to own more than one.
  4. 4
    Price on the button“BUY LIP TREATMENT - $20.00”, then Afterpay at four payments of $5.00.
  5. 5
    Scarcity in small print“Limit 10 per customer” under the button.
  6. 6
    The routine as the upsellLip shape $24, glazing milk $32, lip case $38, each a checkbox. Free US shipping starts at $45.
rhodeskin.com/products/peptide-lip-treatment-rhode-vanilla, mobile · Nov 10, 2026
$25Short of free shipping with one lip treatmentOur math: $45 − $20rhodeskin.com · Nov 10, 2026
$52.20Lip case plus lip treatment with the 10% pair discountOur math: ($38 + $20) × 0.9, over the $45 linerhodeskin.com · Nov 10, 2026
$5.80Saved by buying the pairOur math: $58 − $52.20rhodeskin.com · Nov 10, 2026
“Pair your Lip Case with a Peptide Lip Treatment or Tint to save 10%.”rhodeskin.com/products/lip-case · Nov 10, 2026
The founder’s promise, signed, on the about page.rhodeskin.com/pages/about-us · Nov 10, 2026
Their ads now

59 ads, each named after one product.

Meta Ad Library · started Sep 25, 2026

“the peptide lip tints”

Four words, a product stack and a Sign Up button instead of Shop Now. The ad collects people for the next drop.

Runs on Facebook and Instagram, with several versions.

See the ad in the Ad Library →

Active US ads on the rhode page, Meta Ad Library, Nov 10, 2026. Ads showing the founder’s face are described, not shown.

Ad anatomy

How the sign-up ad is built.

  1. 1
    Brand page, not a creatorRuns from the rhode page with its own logo.
  2. 2
    No claim in the copyJust the product name and a bow emoji.
  3. 3
    The product as the imageA stack of tints in shades, no model and no text.
  4. 4
    One-line positioning“peptide lip tint, the tinted lip layer.”
  5. 5
    A list, not a saleSign Up builds the waitlist that the next launch sells to.

Our wireframe of ad 1068553452700588 in the Meta Ad Library, seen Nov 10, 2026. Not a copy of the ad.

From Rhode’s channel

Two Rhode videos.

A week in New York for the Sephora launch, including ringing the bell at the NYSE.Rhode’s YouTube · Oct 7, 2025
One product per video: a cleanser the brand says took nearly four years.Rhode’s YouTube · Sep 23, 2025
“At rhode, our philosophy is to make one of everything really good.”
Hailey Bieber, founder, “A note from Hailey,” rhodeskin.com, seen Nov 10, 2026
What doesn’t transfer

Read it with three caveats.

  • The founder bought the first audience. Ratner says a famous face brings the launch; the product brings people back.
  • Waitlists need demand first. 700,000 sign-ups came four years in. A new brand’s waitlist starts at its email list.
  • A public parent. Rhode has been part of e.l.f. Beauty since 2025. The five-city kiosk tour came after the deal.
  • What we’d change: one $20 product sits $25 under free shipping. We’d test the lip case pair as the default choice on the lip page.
Copy this

Seven moves for a $1M–$10M brand.

Launching a product next quarter?

Book a call. We’ll plan the waitlist, the creators and the launch-day ads.

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Sources

Where every number comes from.

  1. “e.l.f. Beauty Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire rhode in $1 Billion Deal,” e.l.f. Beauty press release, May 28, 2025. investor.elfbeauty.com
  2. “e.l.f. Beauty Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results,” e.l.f. Beauty press release, Nov 5, 2025 (record launch at Sephora North America; acquisition cash paid in the six months to Sep 30, 2025). investor.elfbeauty.com
  3. Karin Eldor, “Inside Rhode’s Brand-Building Playbook With Cofounder Lauren Ratner,” Forbes, Sep 9, 2026 (waitlist, launch-day sales, Lip Case, CreatorIQ and Business of Fashion figures). forbes.com
  4. Rhode, homepage, about page, peptide lip treatment and lip case product pages, viewed on mobile Nov 10, 2026. rhodeskin.com/products/peptide-lip-treatment-rhode-vanilla and rhodeskin.com/products/lip-case
  5. Meta Ad Library, active US ads for the rhode page, viewed Nov 10, 2026. facebook.com/ads/library
  6. Rhode, official YouTube channel (@rhode), videos dated Sep 23 and Oct 7, 2025. youtube.com/@rhode

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