Why a High-Growth, Influencer-Driven Beauty Brand Made the Move to Capacity
Highlights
- Capacity’s 25-year track record of delivering ecommerce and retail fulfillment for high growth beauty brands gave one of the industry’s most recognized beauty brands the trust and confidence they were looking for.
- Capacity works closely with the brand’s marketing and influencer engagement teams, ensuring that fulfillment can meet demand for planned product launches and unplanned viral moments alike.
- Capacity’s deep relationships and experience working with Ulta and Sephora gave the brand confidence in their ability to meet their ambitious growth goals and retail expansion strategies.
- Capacity’s technical capabilities supported the brand’s move to NetSuite, connecting data sources via API, ultimately making life easier for the brand’s executive team.
It was late 2021 and this brand was growing fast.
What do you mean, “this brand?” What brand are we talking about?
Editor’s note: Typically, our case studies name names: r.e.m beauty, Fur, The Perfect Jean. But sometimes a brand wants to keep things close to the vest. We respect that. So in order to tell the story, we anonymize it. This is one of those cases. And about the quotes? They’re from the brand’s VP of Finance.
So back to the story…
Not long into this rapid growth stage, it became clear to the brand that it required a fulfillment partner to match. They needed a partner that could keep up with the demand and properly manage inventory; a partner that didn’t accidentally double ship orders or let delivery times exceed what the brand promised.
And that’s when the brand’s VP of finance met Capacity VP of sales, Nikil Parbhakar at an industry event.
“From our initial meeting to onboarding, the Capacity team fostered a real sense of confidence and trust. Their track record of getting beauty fulfillment right speaks for itself – and after having to part ways with two previous 3PLs in a little more than two years, that was non-negotiable for us. We needed a partner who could keep up with our ambitious goals.”
Fulfillment for the Followers
The brand’s co-founder is a force. With over 1.2 million Instagram followers and another 699,000 followers on TikTok, her influence was the initial fuel for the brand’s rapid ecommerce growth. And while it still is the driver, the company has built out an influencer relations office that diligently works to nurture, spark and launch viral moments with individuals who love the brand and share its ethos.
“Influencer-driven demand generation is where Capacity thrives. We’re super strategic and engaged with the brand’s marketing and influencer teams, mapping out product launches and allocating inventory. But at the same time, we’re flexible enough to handle unplanned, spontaneous viral moments that spike orders seemingly out of nowhere.”
Nikil Parbhakar
VP of Sales, Capacity
Launching with Ulta
Expanding beyond ecommerce and into retail was always in the plan for the brand. In fact, it was a contributing factor to the brand parting ways with its previous 3PL that wanted the brand to pilot its soon-to-be-launched B2B solution. (Needless to say, the brand was not interested in being the guinea pig.)
Again, they needed a partner with a specific experience – in this case, working with the major beauty retailers.
“Early in our conversations with Capacity, we made it clear that we were going to expand into retail. Their deep relationships and experience working with the Ultas and Sephoras of the world was a strong signal. We ultimately ended up launching with Ulta in August of 2024 and Capacity has handled everything wonderfully.”
Deeper Dive: Learn more about Capacity’s consolidator relationships with Ulta and Sephora.
Data Talks
In January 2024, the brand adopted NetSuite, leveling up from managing its data in QuickBooks to a fully built out ERP. Now, the brand is able to pipe in multiple data sources – from Shopify to EDI – via API.
“Capacity’s technical expertise has been invaluable. They understand what data needs to flow and where and how to facilitate integrations that, frankly, just work. With NetSuite, we now have a single source of truth and Capacity played a big part in helping us get there. As the person who is responsible for recording revenue, inventory COGS and so much more, my job is exponentially easier.”
Bottom Line
This beauty brand has big plans; big dreams. In Capacity, they have a fulfillment partner that will be right there with them ensuring that the brand promise is always delivered.