Ulta Beauty Selects Eight Emerging Brands For Fifth MUSE Accelerator Cohort Leave a comment

Ulta Beauty has unveiled the eight emerging beauty brands joining the latest cohort of its MUSE Accelerator program.

Starting Sept. 14, Blue Water Girls, MoKnowsHair, Prados Beauty, Dos Mundos, Prereq Care, MIA Outdoor Hair, Mochiglow and Aware Hair will participate in the 10-week program that provides mentorship, retail-readiness training and cash grants of $50,000 apiece. Ulta and nonprofit partner The Fifteen Percent Pledge will award an additional $10,000 to one participant based on sales growth, whitespace opportunity and community impact.

“Our priorities remain finding the next new exciting brands,” says Jessica Phillips, VP of merchandising at Ulta. “I see MUSE as very forward looking and focused on how we are co-creating with founders who are the heartbeat of our industry and the future of what’s important in beauty. These founders are really driving the industry forward.”

Phillips explains that MUSE has two intertwined objectives: supporting emerging founders and cultivating potential future Ulta brands. “It’s part impact and it’s part pipeline for Ulta Beauty,” she says. “We want to prepare these brands for success in the industry. Ideally, they also are a pipeline to brands to launch at Ulta Beauty, and ideally the stars align and we do that.”

Ulta is flooded with hundreds of applicants for each MUSE cohort and evaluates them much like brands being considered for its assortment. It examines potential assortment gaps, a brand’s ability to scale and the founder’s preparedness. It also generally seeks brands that have generated revenue, demonstrated direct-to-consumer traction and begun developing a community. However, some participants may have only six to 12 months of operating history.

The new cohort members span haircare, skincare, body care, fragrance and makeup, with an emphasis on haircare and brands addressing specific consumer needs, use occasions and historically underserved audiences. This year’s MUSE program has expanded with Alumni Spotlights, sessions offering a candid look at the challenges and wins the program’s alumni have experienced. Participating alumni include the founders of Ocoa, Octavia Morgan Los Angeles, Scarlet by RedDrop and Poom Cosmetics.

While MUSE participants don’t necessarily receive placement in Ulta stores, every graduate now has the chance to join UB Marketplace after completing the program. Launched last fall as an invite-only platform integrated within Ulta’s website, UB Marketplace has a roster of more than 450 brands and 12,000 stockkeeping units across seven categories, including tools and technology, discovery, grooming, luxe, personal care, professional and wellness. Nine MUSE alumni brands are available through UB Marketplace. Four have made it into Ulta stores: Pound Cake, Ocoa, Octavia Morgan Los Angeles and Scarlet by RedDrop.

Since MUSE launched in 2022, 32 brands have participated, and Ulta has awarded participating brands more than $1.5 million in funding. The participants are paired with two mentors to guide them through the program: an Ulta merchant and a brand founder. This year’s founder mentors include Black Girl Sunscreen founder Shontay Lundy, Rizos Curls co-founders Julissa and Tony Prado, Cocokind founder Priscilla Tsai, Hero Cosmetics co-founder Ju Rhyu, Grande Cosmetics founder Alicia Grande, Noyz CEO Malena Higuera, Good Molecules co-founder Nils Johnson and Donna’s Recipe co-founder Gina Woods.

The curriculum covers brand strategy and positioning, retail fundamentals and supply chain logistics, culminating in a fireside chat and an opportunity for the brands to pitch Ulta merchants and connect with investors. Fireside chat speakers this year include Live Tinted founder Deepica Mutyala, Cécred CEO Grace Ray, Briogeo and Soulstice founder Nancy Twine, Allure editor-in-chief Jessica Cruel, Amika CEO Chelsea Riggs, Milk Makeup co-founder Dianna Ruth and True Beauty Ventures co-founder Cristina Nuñez.

Ulta revisits the curriculum annually based on participant feedback and changes in the beauty business. Phillips says future iterations of MUSE could place greater emphasis on social commerce or introduce programming around retail eventing. Finance and P&L education have already taken on greater importance, with the curriculum covering funding options such as angel capital, bank loans and bootstrapping. Phillips says, “A lot of founders, they’re super creative, but they’re scared of the money conversations.”

Ulta is revealing its latest MUSE cohort amid strong business performance under CEO Kecia Steelman. In the second quarter, net sales increased 8.9% to $3.04 billion, while comparable sales advanced 3.8%. Boosted by stronger-than-expected performance during the first half of the year, Ulta raised its fiscal 2026 outlook, forecasting net sales growth of 6.7% to 7.2% and comparable sales growth of 3.2% to 3.7%.

Ulta established MUSE six years after Sephora launched its Accelerate program in 2016. Sephora recently revamped Accelerate with an updated curriculum featuring courses on scaling a business and brand launch fundamentals, with operations, finance, media training, team building and strategic planning among its areas of focus. Forty-one brands have graduated from Accelerate to date, and more than half have gone on to launch at the retailer.

MUSE and Accelerate exist as emerging beauty brands find alternative pathways to scale, primarily through Amazon and TikTok Shop, where launching is often faster and cheaper than in traditional brick-and-mortar environments. As a result, specialty retailers are under greater pressure to ensure emerging brands are prepared before landing in stores.

Phillips argues that MUSE’s differentiator is the combination of merchant access, founder mentorship, community and funding. The $50,000 grant has remained central to the accelerator, particularly when participating in an intensive program takes early-stage founders away from running their day-to-day businesses.

“You are alone in what you’re building, and so you need to build that community of founders who are doing the same thing you’re doing. But if you don’t have the money, none of it matters,” she says. “The mentorship, the money, the community building, all of that together make this super special.”