Luxury wellness brand Neom Wellbeing has officially launched at Ulta Beauty, offering its range of aromatherapy and personal care products to US consumers. Additionally, K-Beauty brand Rael has expanded its presence at Ulta Beauty, introducing a wider range of skin care and feminine hygiene products.
Neom Wellbeing
Established in 2005 by Founder Nicola Elliott, Neom Wellbeing offers luxury aromatherapy products for the home, bath, body and skin, and is now expanding from its U.K. roots into the U.S. market.
The brand is available at www.ulta.com and will launch into select Ulta Beauty stores beginning in January 2025. This follows Neom’s opening of its first U.S. standalone store on Bleecker St. in New York City in July of 2024.
Nicola Elliott, founder Neom Wellbeing, says, “Well, what a milestone, Ulta Beauty is happening! I couldn’t be prouder that we are continuing to expand further in the U.S, in the 20th year of our brand. Customers will find a curated edit of Neom Wellbeing products, across our four pillars: Better Sleep, Less Stress, More Energy and Mood Boost. Neom products are designed to be incorporated into daily routines with ease and we are excited to support Ulta customer’s wellbeing journeys!”
Isabel Malbois, CEO Neom Wellbeing, says, “Our mission is to empower customers to create moments of wellbeing and joy throughout their day, with our 100% natural fragrance products. Ulta Beauty’s dedication to meeting evolving customer needs, aligns perfectly with our vision of integrating beauty and wellness. By adding wellness brands like Neom to their portfolio, Ulta is expanding their Wellness Shop offering to help guests feel their best, both inside and out.
Malbois adds, “With growing demand for our products online and in our Wellbeing Hub in New York City, this partnership provides a fantastic opportunity to connect with even more customers. Not only will we reach them digitally, but also giving the true Neom Wellbeing experience, in select stores, allowing customers to smell and feel our products firsthand.”
Lisa Tamburello, vice president of merchandising at Ulta Beauty, says, "At Ulta Beauty, we are thrilled to welcome Neom Wellbeing, a brand synonymous with comfortable luxury and holistic wellness. Our guests are increasingly looking for ways to elevate their self-care rituals, and Neom’s focus on providing products that support better sleep, reduce stress, and boosting energy aligns perfectly with that desire. By introducing Neom’s consciously-made fragrances and wellness-focused solutions, we’re excited to offer a new dimension of wellbeing that empowers our guests to feel great inside and out."
Rael Beauty
Rael K-Beauty inspired products spanning across skin care, feminine wellness, and supplement,is renowned for delivering clean, efficacious skin care products infused with K-beauty technology. The brand's mission is “to empower consumers to look and feel their best throughout their entire cycle.”
Highlights from the online collection include:
- Retinol Chin Mask: This 2-step treatment tackles hormonal acne along the jawline and reportedly instantly reduces acne ($18).
- Miracle Patch 3-Step Pore Melting Pack: The three-step system gently and effectively melts blackheads without irritating skin and includes a blackhead dissolving nose strip, cotton swabs to wipe away impurities and a soothing sheet nose strip to calm skin afterwards ($9).
- Miracle Patch: This dual-action patch delivers acne-clearing ingredients such as retinol, niacinamide, etc., while drawing out impurities from deep, stubborn blemishes ($14).
- Miracle Clear Brightening Carotene Pads: These dual-purpose pre-soaked toner pads work to brighten and even skin tone and can be used every day toner or left on as a mask to fully nourish skin ($21).
Yanghee Paik, CEO and co-founder of Rael, spoke with Global Cosmetic Industry and shared her insights on the current K-beauty trend in the United States.
How does Rael explain the recent K-beauty boom in America?
Paik: The recent K-Beauty boom in America reflects a growing demand for high-quality, effective, and innovative skin care solutions that put skin health first. Korean beauty brands have become known for their advanced formulations, unique ingredients, and multi-step routines that focus on nourishing, hydrating, and protecting the skin. At Rael, we see this movement as more than just a trend—it’s an approach that emphasizes long-term skin wellness, clean ingredients and sustainable practices at affordable prices.
In addition, in recent years, the popularity of Korean pop culture and the rise of TikTok in the U.S. helped bring K-Beauty into the mainstream. There's a huge following of Korean culture and K-Beauty among Gen-Z who enjoy watching beauty influencers' content showing the efficacy of K-Beauty products. In addition, there's so much more push from Korean companies to enter the US market after they experienced a decline in the Chinese market. Their marketing investment in the US has been growing, especially on TikTok and Amazon.
Founded by three Korean women in the U.S., Rael has been at the forefront of introducing innovative K-Beauty products to the U.S. with one of its most popular offerings being acne patches.
Recognizing the effectiveness of this K-Beauty innovation, Rael now offers eight different types of acne patches, with a Miracle Patch sold every three seconds. The brand continues to innovate within the acne patch segment, most recently launching the Miracle Patch Advanced Strength Retinol Spot Cover, which features active ingredients such as retinol, ceramide, and niacinamide that are released in stages for maximum effectiveness.
Rael has also introduced The Miracle Clear collection formulated to focus on the long-term health of the skin barrier to gently address hormonal acne and satisfy your skin's fluctuating needs throughout your cycle. This is a different approach to acne care than what is typically in the U.S., which oftentimes include harsher exfoliating and drying ingredients.
The newest launches within the collection include the Miracle Patch Retinol Spot Cover, the Miracle Clear Retinol Chin Mask, and most recently the Miracle Clear Brightening Carotene Pads. The Miracle Clear Brightening Carotene Pads are a 2-in-1 toner pad and targeted sheet mask treatment inspired from the latest K-Beauty trend. Toner pads are the latest rage in South Korea and Rael is one of the first brands to introduce this technology to the US.
What are the brand's growth goals having now entered Ulta?
Paik: Rael’s trailing 12-month revenue exceeded $100 million in net revenue and is on track to achieve over 20% growth YoY.
Led by the product development team based in South Korea, Rael looks forward to expanding its 360-degree approach to women’s wellness, enhancing product development, continuing retail growth by evolving partnerships and investing in brand and trade marketing. Rael also continues to grow as a holistic cycle care brand with its broad portfolio of self-care solutions offering cleaner and more effective ingredients for the modern consumer that support all phases of your cycle and the impact on wellness, beyond your period.
We are excited to continually excel in product innovation and consumer education as a holistic wellness brand. Leveraging cutting-edge technology from Korea to bring a novel experience to the consumer that helps improve women’s wellness is always at the forefront of our mission. We remain committed to bringing women clean and more effective personal care solutions that help them throughout their hormonal cycle. We are continuing to expand our marketing efforts to strengthen our retail presence and reach more consumers with the ultimate goal of being a trusted global household brand.
As both Neom Wellbeing and Rael Beauty expand their presence in the U.S. market, they aim to cater to the growing demand for clean, effective, and luxurious beauty and wellness products. By partnering with Ulta Beauty, these brands are poised to reach a wider audience and solidify their positions in the competitive beauty industry.