EXCLUSIVE: Ipsy and BoxyCharm to Merge Under Ipsy Name
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Ipsy and BoxyCharm are merging.
The companies will operate as one beauty subscription service under the Ipsy name.
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“We came to this realization that, by running our brands independently, we actually weren’t servicing our members to the best of our ability,” said Jenna Habayeb, chief marketing officer at Ipsy.
While Ipsy acquired BoxyCharm in 2020, the companies maintained separate operations until now. The brands have since lived under parent company, Beauty for All Industries, which was formed following the acquisition and is the incubator behind Addison Rae’s Item Beauty, and Becky G’s Trésluce Beauty.
At the time of the sale, BFA said it anticipated more than $1 billion in combined sales for 2020. Analysts question whether this momentum has been sustained, though Ipsy declined to share updated sales information or subscriber counts for the businesses.
By unifying, Ipsy aims to combine it’s AI-powered member quiz and customization capabilities with BoxyCharm’s brand portfolio and curated approach to merchandising, to create an “ultimate beauty membership.”
“One of the biggest things Boxy members were asking for was more choice, and that’s something we weren’t able to deliver on Boxy standalone,” said Habayeb, adding that one of the key differences between the brands’ subscriber bases is BoxyCharm — which offered solely full size products, while Ipsy offers varying sizes — has historically drawn more avid beauty lovers who are more “trend-forward and adventurous with products.”
With this merger, Ipsy will offer four subscription options: the sample-size Glam Bag subscription; the full-size subscription, now called BoxyCharm by Ipsy; a quarterly, celebrity-curated subscription called Icon Box, and a sustainable personal care subscription called Refreshments.
Ipsy will also introduce a feature called Power Picks, which guarantees popular brands and products (based on the platform’s culled consumer insights) in each monthly box, with the number of Power Picks per box varying depending on a user’s subscription package.
The platform will add a premium add-on called Beauty Boost for select members, and seeks to bolster its commerce experience with increased promotional events.
“BoxyCharm has traditionally had a much deeper and more robust commerce experience; we want to take those learnings from the BoxyCharm side and deliver them to our Ipsy members,” Habayeb said.
Among the best-performing brands across the platforms are MAC Cosmetics, Nars Cosmetics and Glow Recipe, while Clinique does well on Ipsy, and Natasha Denona was a BoxyCharm heavy hitter, Habayeb said.
“What we’ve learned from Boxy is there is a desire for people to discover, to get advice and recommendations, so if we did everything just on the head of personalization, we’re missing a little bit of that discovery and delight,” said Habayeb, adding that the unification of the platforms and their respective strategies is aimed to set up Ipsy — and its customers — for increased success.
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