How two L’Oréal alums built TikTok-famous Glow Recipe into a $300 million skincare brand

– Got that glow. Sarah Lee and Christine Chang met in the mid-2000s when they both worked for L’Oréal in the beauty giant’s Seoul office. The pair had similar backgrounds; they had both grown up all over the world and shared Korean heritage and an appreciation for traditional Korean beauty regimens, from going to bathhouses on the weekends to bathing in spoiled milk. They hit it off and coincidentally ended up moving to L’Oréal’s New York office at the same time.

By 2014, Lee and Chang decided to quit their corporate jobs and start a skincare startup together: Glow Recipe. The startup started as an e-commerce platform for a selection of Korean beauty brands but pivoted in 2017 to its own brand. Today, it’s one of the most popular brands on TikTok, trending with young skincare obsessives from Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Glow Recipe earned $300 million in revenue in 2023, Fortune is the first to report.

The duo, both 42, say that the decade they each spent at L’Oréal—working on Kiehl’s, Lancôme, and L’Oréal Paris across digital, global business development, and marketing—has been critical to their approach to building a business. “It doesn’t prepare you for entrepreneurship—I don’t think anything really does,” Chang says. But working in a conglomerate required some entrepreneurial skills, Lee says. “You had to be very independent and be your own entrepreneur within the organization,” Lee says. “You had to figure out ways to build strong relationships with cross functions, your managers, and your team members to support the marketing strategy or idea you came up with.”

Courtesy of Glow Recipe

They started their own brand with an in-depth understanding of the nitty-gritty of the beauty industry, like how to get on shelves in Sephora. They knew to tailor their marketing strategy to each retailer—and that Sephora preferred a “high-touch” approach with frequent communication.

Glow Recipe crossed $300 million in revenue last year helped by a few hero products, including its watermelon dew drops, which together with toners accounted for 41% of its business. Serums made up another 35%.

While the brand markets to older Gen Z and millennials, it’s become popular with young Gen Zers and Gen Alpha, who are under 13 years old. Glow Recipe is one of the brands that tweens seek out at Sephora (yes, those Sephora tweens). The founders still plan to focus on slightly older consumers. “If that influences those other demographics, that’s great, but we’re not going to change our strategy,” Lee says. Parents appreciate that the brand’s formulas are “gentle to the skin.” And the founders appreciate that their initial vision—to make products that work but have fun, accessible packaging and branding—has paid off.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe

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