2 Reasons Why People Run for Kylie Cosmetics

Imagine launching your first-ever product and seeing it sell out in less than a minute 😮 Sounds unreal, right? That’s exactly what happened when Kylie Jenner dropped her first Lip Kit.

I still remember seeing my sister's social media feed blow up with everyone talking about it, sharing posts about their purchases, and people trying to get their hands on that sold-out shade. It was wild 🔥

Little did I know that all that buzz was just the start of Kylie Kingdom, Kylie Cosmetics 🏰 Every post and content piece people shared that day was not something people forgot soon.

It was a wildfire instead. So, how did Kylie Jenner take her signature brand to new heights worth billions of dollars?

Let's see!

Kylie Cosmetics started as a small beauty brand in 2015 with a single product: the Lip Kit. It grew into a billion-dollar empire In just a few years, changing how beauty brands approached marketing forever.

What made this even more impressive was that it wasn't launched by a seasoned entrepreneur but by Kylie Jenner, a reality TV star and social media influencer.

Kylie's rise to success wasn’t just about having a famous name. It was about understanding her audience and building a brand that spoke directly to its target audience.

From the iconic first Lip Kit launch that sold out in minutes to a billion-dollar acquisition deal with Coty Inc., Kylie Cosmetics’ success is beyond exceptional.

Here’s a video of a Lip Kit launch by Kylie, her mother and others 8 years ago:

Understanding the Customer

Kylie Cosmetics' rapid success lies in its deep understanding of its customer base. Kylie Jenner tapped into her audience’s desires, behaviors, and aspirations.

Kylie Cosmetics primarily targets young women between 18 and 34, with the majority of the audience being Gen Z and younger millennials.

These generations are known for their deep engagement with social media, trends, and influencers, making them the perfect audience for Kylie’s influencer-driven marketing approach.

For these customers, makeup is not just about beauty but more about expressing their identity and staying on-trend.

Kylie Cosmetics capitalized on this with several bold, trendy colors that allowed users to replicate Kylie’s signature look while making it their own.

A 2023 survey showed that 68% of Kylie Cosmetics’ customers were under 30, with 80% of them actively following beauty trends on Instagram and TikTok.

Brand Strategy

Kylie Cosmetics’ brand strategy revolved around two key pillars: exclusivity and scarcity. From the start, Kylie Jenner capitalized on the psychology of limited supply to create a demand for her products.

Here’s how the core elements of her strategy work:

1. Limited Product Drops

Launching products in small, controlled batches, often called product drops is Kylie's signature move.

They marketed each release as an exclusive opportunity, with limited quantities available by announcing launch dates weeks in advance. And that created urgency among buyers.

This limited-time-only tactic mimicked the fast fashion model, where they introduced new products continuously but only in small quantities.

Can you believe 90% of Kylie Cosmetics’ initial lip kits sold out within the first hour of being released, crashing the website due to high traffic?

2. Scarcity Marketing

Kylie Cosmetics created exclusivity and rarity by making products scarce (launching in limited quantities). Doing so increased the product's value and turned every purchase into a targeted achievement.

People who bought these products became brand advocates on social media, further fueling social conversations and envy among those who missed out.

This drove more people to peek into Kylie's store. Watch this YouTube shot to see one of the customers excitingly reviewing the lip kit by Kylie Cosmetics:

Do you know the brand's Kylie Lip Kit launched first with only 15,000 units? That was a strategic move to trigger higher demand.

3. Teasing Products on Social Media

Kylie’s social channels are the beating heart of her brand strategy. She used Instagram and Snapchat to tease upcoming products weeks in advance.

She uses these social channels to give sneak peeks at new shades or packaging. This slow reveal of product details generated a FOMO effect, causing likely customers to stay glued to her accounts for updates.

Here’s a post of Kylie Cosmetics in collaboration with another top beauty brand.

Can you believe Kylie Jenner posted over 400 stories on Snapchat about the Lip Kits before their launch, resulting in massive online buzz?

4. Personal Branding

Kylie herself became the face and driving force behind the brand. By sharing her beauty routine and including her signature look in every campaign, Kylie built a personal connection with her fans.

For example, this post on Kylie’s Instagram profile showing her lipstick shades has over a million likes and 11,000+ comments. (Tap on the image to see the carousel)

This authenticity resonated with millennials and Gen Z, who viewed her as a celebrity and someone whose beauty tips they could trust. 60% of customers cited Kylie's involvement as the reason why they purchased the products.

5. Collaborations and Special Editions

Kylie kept the momentum by releasing limited-edition collections often in collaboration with family members or influencers.

For instance, her collaborations with her sisters (Kim and Khloé) brought fresh audiences into the fold, while her partnership with Balmain during Paris Fashion Week in 2019 boosted her brand.

The Kylie x Balmain collection sold out in 3 hours, grossing over $5 million in sales. Check out their collaboration video starring Kylie trying on the different Balmain products.

6. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Model

Kylie Cosmetics thrived on a direct-to-consumer business model, which allowed them to cut out traditional retail people and sell directly to their customers.

Here’s the screenshot showing the website traffic of the official site of Kylie Cosmetics:

This approach boosted profit margins, and the brand took control over pricing, marketing, and customer experience. By 2019, Kylie Cosmetics had sold over $630 million priced products through its website without brick-and-mortar stores.

Execution

By leveraging her massive social media presence, influencer partnerships, and clever content tactics, Kylie Jenner created a beauty brand that continues to resonate with millions.

Here are the marketing strategies that drove Kylie Cosmetics to global success:

Social Media Marketing Channel

Kylie Cosmetics is primarily a social media-driven brand. Unlike traditional beauty companies that rely on TV, print, or in-store promotions, Kylie Cosmetics focuses almost exclusively on Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.

• Instagram: With Kylie Jenner boasting over 397 million followers on Instagram, the brand directly taps into her massive fanbase. Every product launch, behind-the-scenes content, or customer feedback is shared instantly to ensure maximum engagement.

Here’s one of Kylie’s IG stories that takes us back to her brand’s initial stages:

• Snapchat: Before Instagram stories became the norm, Kylie used Snapchat to tease product launches. She would post sneak peeks, product reviews, and even restock alerts, creating a real-time connection with her audience.

Check this Snap video by one of the customers with Kylie’s makeup products tried on.

Over 80% of Kylie Cosmetics’ marketing budget goes to social media content creation and promotions, with little spent on traditional advertising.

In the first year of Kylie Cosmetics, the brand spent $0 on print or television advertising, relying only on Kylie’s social media presence to drive sales.

Influencer and Celebrity Collaborations

Another core strategy was collaborating with influencers and celebrities to boost the brand’s reach. Kylie partnered with top beauty influencers who could review and promote her products.

These influencers often unbox her products, try them on, and give honest reviews, which generated a buzz across YouTube and TikTok.

Here’s a YouTube video review with 1.6 million views and 125k likes by one of the influencers.

Kylie Cosmetics also worked with micro-influencers with niche-focused but highly engaged audiences. It allowed Kylie to target smaller and specific communities for deeper brand penetration.

Kylie also brought in her family members for collaborations. Collections like Kylie x Kim or Kylie x Khloé tapped into the combined fanbases. The draw was the family dynamic, which further engaged the Kardashian-Jenner fanbase.

Take a peek into yesterday’s Kylie’s Instagram story showing his mom promoting one of Kylie’s products.

Influencer marketing accounted for 32% of total sales in 2018, contributing over $115 million in revenue to Kylie.

Kylie’s collaborations with family members increased Instagram engagement by 30% during the first 24 hours after product announcements.

Leveraging User-Generated Content

Kylie Cosmetics also used user-generated content (UGC) to build credibility and increase organic engagement.

Fans who bought her products would post makeup looks using the hashtag #KylieCosmetics. This created a sense of community and served as a free promotion for the brand.

This UGC strategy encouraged customers to share their beauty transformations. Kylie herself would repost user content on her Instagram stories, giving her fans the thrill of being recognized by their idol.

Check out this post by one of the influencers attending the launch of Kylie Cosmetics in South Africa.

By mid-2023, the hashtag #KylieCosmetics had been used over 7 million times on Instagram, making it one of the most active beauty brand hashtags.

E-commerce Optimization

The success of Kylie Cosmetics can be linked to its direct-to-consumer (DTC) model. Kylie Cosmetics initially launched as an e-commerce brand, which meant they could control the entire customer journey.

The brand uses Shopify as its e-commerce platform to ensure a better customer experience with easy navigation, payment options, and quick loading times, especially during high-traffic moments like product launches.

Alongside social media, Kylie Cosmetics invested in email marketing campaigns focused on cart abandonment, restock alerts, and exclusive offers.

The email was crucial in driving them to repeat purchases while Shopify reported that Kylie Cosmetics earned $15 million in sales during the brand’s first 18 months.

Global Reach with Minimal Infrastructure

Kylie Cosmetics managed to become a global brand with very little physical infrastructure. The company outsourced production and fulfillment to third-party manufacturers and logistics providers.

This allowed the brand to scale rapidly without its own factories or distribution centers. The company uses Seed Beauty for product formulation and manufacturing to ensure quality and consistency across the board.

Meanwhile, their partnership with Shopify and outsourced fulfillment centers has allowed Kylie Cosmetics to ship products worldwide easily.

Kylie Cosmetics had shipped over 50 million units globally by the end of 2020, with a presence in over 100 countries.

Through these marketing strategies, Kylie Cosmetics remained competitive in the beauty industry, continually engaging its audience, innovating its products, and leveraging the power of personal branding and influencer marketing.

Results

• According to Forbes, Kylie Jenner was declared the youngest self-made billionaire in 2019, just four years after the launch of her cosmetics line.

• By 2019, Kylie Cosmetics was valued at $1.2 billion, making it one of the fastest-growing beauty brands in the world.

• After the Coty deal, Kylie Cosmetics entered new markets, including skincare, which generated $100 million in sales within the first year.

• By 2023, Kylie Jenner’s Instagram posts promoting Kylie Cosmetics averaged 5 million likes per post, making her one of the top influencers in the beauty industry.

• By 2020, Kylie Cosmetics was generating over $200 million a year, with the bulk of sales coming from e-commerce and influencer marketing.

• In 2018, Kylie Cosmetics sold over $360 million of products, accounting for 40% of the brand's lifetime sales. On Kylie’s 21st birthday collection launch, the brand made $18 million in just one day.

• In 2021, 50% of Kylie Cosmetics' sales came from international markets, with a strong presence in Europe and Asia.

• In its first year of partnering with Ulta Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics generated over $54.5 million in sales from the retailer alone.

• Over 60% of Kylie Cosmetics' customers are repeat buyers, showcasing the brand’s strong customer retention rate.

Conclusion

With these marketing strategies, Kylie Cosmetics has maintained its stronghold in the competitive beauty industry. They always engage with their audience, innovate products, and leverage personal branding and influencer marketing.

The brand’s ability to evolve with digital trends, while keeping its customers at the forefront, has made it an example in executing a winning marketing strategy.

It's your turn now:

• How can brands expand globally without significant physical infrastructure?

• What role does personal branding play in the success of a direct-to-consumer company?