Sephora Accelerate helps support the next generation of female beauty founders

by Megan Moyer, corporate marketing manager, as appeared in Inside Beauty for Drug Store News

Founded in 2016, Sephora Accelerate was created to cultivate a community of innovative and inspirational female beauty founders. At its roots, it was intentionally designed to offer access for founders who face barriers to entry in the beauty industry.

After making a commitment with the Fifteen Percent Pledge nonprofit in 2020, Sephora reaffirmed their mission to help cultivate a more diverse, welcoming beauty community, and pivoted the program to focus on inclusive, innovative founders in 2021. Education included addressing financial readiness, marketing and building a team. Additionally, they brought in tenured founders, including Danessa Myricks of Danessa Myricks Beauty and Nancy Twine of Briogeo, who shared their experiences as founders.

Carolyn Bojanowski, EVP, merchandising US, Sephora, said, “Now, inputting 10 years of experience and feedback, we’re excited to share that our industry-leading curriculum has evolved to reflect the ever-changing aspects of a brand’s journey in today’s dynamic business landscape and better help elevate the next generation of beauty founders. At Sephora, championing innovation has always been core to our DNA and Accelerate plays an important role in that commitment by helping identify, support, and amplify emerging founders whose fresh ideas and perspectives are shaping the future of beauty.”

Brands who want to be considered for Sephora Accelerate will be evaluated based on criteria such as their vision, innovation and current product development.

“When we partner with any brand, we’re looking at founders who can balance a clear, authentic point of view of their brand while remaining curious, adaptable, and open to learning and refining their approach as they grow. These are the brands that can iterate and evolve to meet consumer preferences over time while not compromising their core identity,” Bojanowski said. Through the program, Bojanowski said, they’ve identified amazing brands like BROWN GIRL Jane and Sienna Naturals and brought them into the Sephora ecosystem, working towards their mission of creating the world’s most innovative, inclusive beauty community.

The program content is designed to help founders build stronger, more resilient businesses that can sustain success well beyond the program. The cohort has access to industry leaders, beauty brand founders, and Sephora executives, who share their expertise and guidance on how to build a winning global prestige beauty brand. Additionally, brands receive one-to-one support and mentorship based on the needs of where they are in their particular brand journey.

Upon graduation, brands come away with an expanded network, operational expertise and brand strategies that help set them up for long-term success, including the potential to launch their brand at Sephora.

According to Bojanowski, success stories from the program include:

EADEM with its viral Le Chouchou Lip Balm
Kulfi and its South Asian-inspired Lassi Lips Staining Longwear Lip Oil and Double Date Skin Set & Refresh Mist
Fara Homidi Beauty and its recent launch The Essential Blonzer
Topicals skincare

Bojanowski is excited to see the applicant pool grow and evolve over the years. “We continue to be inspired by the creativity and innovation from emerging founders and Accelerate is all about helping support that next generation.” The 2026 cohort was announced in July and includes:

Accelerate cohort members will have access to the Sephora Impact Summit and can apply for the $100,000 Sephora Beauty Grant, awarded in partnership with the Fifteen Percent Pledge.