McKinsey: Only Seven Beauty Brands Launched in Past Two Decades Clear $1B in 2025 Sales

McKinsey's 2025 analysis counted 220 beauty brands that generated at least $70 million in global retail sales, a level the report treats as the point at which a brand moves beyond small-scale operations and becomes a candidate for majority-stake investment.

Scaling further is far rarer. Only 60 of those 220 brands surpassed $250 million in sales, and just seven — all launched within the past two decades — crossed the $1 billion mark.

Skin care accounted for the largest share of scaled brands, with 89 generating more than $70 million in 2025. Of those, only three passed $1 billion, and all three sit in the mass or masstige price segments.

Ownership has shifted as the winners grew. All seven of the billion-dollar brands are now held by strategic buyers, typically established beauty or consumer goods companies that bring wider distribution networks, marketing resources and international reach.

The findings point to the difficulty newer entrants face in building scale despite rising investor interest in the sector, and to independent ownership becoming less common once a beauty brand reaches significant size.