Merit
Katherine Power's minimalist beauty brand. Seven products at launch, $200 million in retail sales by year four, profitable, and exploring a sale.
Merit launched in January 2021 with seven products and a promise that getting ready should take five minutes. Four years later, the brand generates approximately $200 million in annual retail sales, is confirmed profitable, and has hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale. Katherine Power, the founder and CEO, built the brand on a thesis that the beauty industry was drowning women in options and that the real white space was simplicity: fewer products, fewer steps, less time in front of a mirror.
Power is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Who What Wear in 2006, built it into a media company that sold to UK publisher Future plc for approximately $100 million, launched Versed skincare (all products under $20), and co-founded Avaline wine with Cameron Diaz. Merit is her fourth company and her most commercially successful. She raised a single $20 million Series A from L Catterton and Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners, and the brand has been profitable without needing additional rounds.
At a glance:
| Founded | January 2021 |
| Founder and CEO | Katherine Power |
| Investors | L Catterton (lead), Marcy Venture Partners (Jay-Z), Sonoma Brands |
| Total funding | $20 million (one round) |
| Retail sales (2025) | ~$200 million |
| Revenue (2024) | $100 million+ (net, confirmed profitable) |
| Retailers | Sephora US, Canada, UK (800+ stores), meritbeauty.com |
| Products at launch | 7 SKUs |
| Positioning | Minimalist, clean beauty, “five-minute face” |
The Story
A media founder walks into a makeup aisle
Katherine Power spent 15 years in media before she launched a beauty brand. She met Hillary Kerr on the set of Project Runway in 2005, and the two co-founded Who What Wear in 2006 to make fashion information accessible online at a time when fashion media was still controlled by print magazines. The site became the center of Clique Media Group, later renamed Clique Brands, which Power ran as CEO starting in 2014. The company generated over $100 million in sales and was eventually acquired by UK publisher Future plc for a reported $100 million in 2022.
Along the way, Power launched Versed skincare in 2019, using Who What Wear’s audience data to develop formulas that addressed what real women actually wanted. Every Versed product was priced under $20. In July 2020, she co-founded Avaline wine with Cameron Diaz after Diaz, who was introduced through Nicole Richie, told Power she wanted to make wine with transparent ingredients. Avaline grew from 80,000 cases in 2022 to over 300,000 cases by 2025.
Seven products and a pandemic launch
Power launched Merit in January 2021, in the middle of a pandemic that had stripped women’s routines down to the bare essentials. Most beauty brands avoided January launches because holiday spending had just ended and attention was elsewhere. For Merit’s concept, the timing was perfect: women had spent a year getting comfortable with bare faces and minimal routines, and Merit offered a way to add makeup back without adding complexity.
The launch lineup consisted of seven products: The Minimalist (a foundation and concealer stick), Brush No. 1, Flush Balm (a cream cheek tint), Day Glow (a highlighting balm), Brow 1980 (a volumizing pomade), Clean Lash (a lengthening mascara), and Shade Slick (a tinted lip oil). The brand sold a product every 17 seconds on launch day and exceeded its year-one DTC sales goal in the first two weeks. Within the first week, the site accumulated 350 product reviews averaging 4.87 out of 5.00 stars.
From DTC to 800 Sephora stores in one month
One month after the DTC launch, Merit announced an exclusive retail partnership with Sephora. By February 19, 2021, the brand was available on Sephora.com and in over 500 stores across the United States and Canada. Within the first year, that number expanded to 800 stores. The speed of the Sephora deal was unusual for a brand that was weeks old, but Power’s track record as a serial entrepreneur and the strength of the launch numbers made her a known quantity in an industry where most new brands have to prove themselves over years before getting a meeting with Sephora’s buying team.
The Strategy
The antidote to oversaturation
Merit’s core positioning is the opposite of what most beauty brands do. While competitors launch with 30 SKUs and release new products every month, Merit launched with seven and has expanded slowly to roughly 15 to 20 product types across makeup, skincare, fragrance, and tools. The brand describes itself as “the antidote to the oversaturated world of beauty,” and Power has said explicitly: “We’re not an innovation brand, we’re a functional brand.”
Revenue growth at Merit is still led by the core collection rather than by new launches, which is the inverse of how most beauty brands operate. When e.l.f. Cosmetics or Huda Beauty release a new product, the new product is expected to drive the quarter. At Merit, replenishment of existing products drives the business, which creates more predictable revenue and stronger unit economics.
The “grown-up Glossier girl”
Business of Fashion described Merit’s core customer as “the grown-up Glossier girl,” and the data backs it up. The brand over-indexes with 25-to-34-year-olds (30% of customers versus 19% category average) and 35-to-44-year-olds (21% versus 17% category average). These are women who want natural-looking makeup, have money to spend on premium products, and do not have 30 minutes to spend on application.
The Glossier comparison is instructive. Both brands sell a minimalist aesthetic, but Glossier built its identity around a 25-year-old who wants to look like she is not wearing makeup. Merit built its identity around a 35-year-old who wants to look polished in five minutes before walking out the door. The five-minute face is not a marketing line. It is the organizing principle behind every product development decision the brand makes.
Sephora exclusivity as a growth engine
Merit’s decision to partner exclusively with Sephora rather than pursuing broader retail distribution gave the brand a single, high-credibility retail channel while keeping the brand’s presence controlled and premium. The brand is now in 800 Sephora stores across the US and Canada, launched at Sephora UK in March 2025, and is entering France. It also reaches customers through Sephora at Kohl’s and its own DTC site.
When Merit launched its Great Skin Priming Moisturizer, the product had a 15,000-person waitlist before it was available for purchase and immediately entered the top 10 moisturizers at Sephora North America. That kind of demand from an existing customer base is what makes Sephora willing to give a relatively small brand prime shelf space: Merit customers are loyal, they repurchase, and they discover new products within the brand’s line.
The Marketing
Grace Coddington at 83 is the face of a lipstick
Merit’s most powerful marketing move was casting Grace Coddington, the 83-year-old former Vogue creative director, in a lipstick campaign. Coddington had been on Merit’s mood board since before the brand launched, and the decision to make her the face of the campaign communicated everything about who Merit is for: sophisticated women who do not chase trends and do not need someone on TikTok to tell them what to buy.
Other campaign stars include Jenna Lyons (the former J.Crew creative director), supermodel Helena Christensen, and actress Kelly Rutherford. Celebrity fans include Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie Grainge, Sarah Jessica Parker (who wore Merit to the And Just Like That Season 2 premiere), Demi Moore, Julianne Moore, and Courteney Cox. The brand did not pay most of these women to wear its products. They are genuine customers.
Going viral without trying to go viral
Merit went viral twice in quick succession without putting any paid spend behind either moment. The first was a TikTok video for the Solo Shadow eyeshadow launch that took off organically. The second was a “get ready with me” video featuring Kelly Rutherford that hit 9 million views and over one million likes, becoming Merit’s most-watched TikTok ever.
CMO Aila Morin, who has been with the brand since its founding, described the approach directly: “We put nothing behind the Solo Shadow video or the Kelly video. It was just content that was relatable, so it took on a life of its own.” The brand does not manufacture virality. It creates content that reflects how real women actually use the products, and occasionally the algorithm rewards authenticity over production value.
Fashion collaborations that blur the category
Merit has positioned itself at the intersection of beauty and fashion in ways that most makeup brands never attempt. A June 2024 collaboration with London fashion label Tove produced the Merit x Tove Signature Bag and “The Evening Set.” The relationship started when Merit served as the beauty sponsor for Tove’s first runway show, which is a smart way to connect a makeup brand to fashion credibility without having to build a clothing line.
The brand also partnered with UK jewelry brand Completedworks to create limited-edition earrings inspired by its Retrospect fragrance, producing only a few hundred pairs. These collaborations do not generate meaningful revenue. They generate the perception that Merit belongs in a fashion context, not just a beauty counter.
The Numbers
| Year | Revenue | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Not disclosed | Exceeded year-one DTC sales goal in first two weeks |
| 2023 | $100M+ (retail sales) | ~$50M+ net revenue |
| 2024 | $100M+ (net revenue) | Confirmed profitable |
| 2025 | ~$200M (retail sales) | Roughly doubled since 2023 |
Funding: Merit raised a single $20 million Series A in September 2021, led by L Catterton’s Growth Fund with participation from Marcy Venture Partners (Jay-Z’s investment fund) and Sonoma Brands. L Catterton VP Courtney Nelson joined the board. The brand has not raised additional rounds, which in beauty typically means either the company is profitable enough to fund its own growth or it is waiting for the right moment to sell.
Profitability: Merit confirmed it became profitable in 2024, a milestone that many venture-backed beauty brands at similar revenue levels have not reached. The brand’s intentionally small product line keeps development costs low, and the focus on replenishment over new launches reduces marketing spend relative to revenue.
Exploring a sale: Merit has hired Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale, though Power has said she is not actively pursuing a deal and is waiting for market conditions to improve. She has publicly stated she wants Merit to be a billion-dollar brand, which at current growth rates would require either a significant international expansion or a strategic acquirer willing to pay a premium on projected revenue.
Key product: The Minimalist foundation and concealer stick, priced at $38, is the brand’s bestseller and is available in 30 shades (up from 20 at launch). The Retrospect fragrance, Merit’s first scent launched in October 2024, took over two years and more than 200 rounds of development with Parisian master perfumer Fanny Bal, and uses nearly 30% fragrance oil, roughly double the concentration of most perfumes.
Controversies
Clean beauty claims under scrutiny
Multiple reviewers and TikTok creators have questioned Merit’s “clean” claims. The Minimalist stick previously contained BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), a preservative associated with endocrine disruption, which the brand later reformulated out. Critics have also noted that the “Clean at Sephora” designation has relatively loose guidelines, and that Merit is not registered with the EU REACH program despite marketing language that implies compliance with European standards. These are industry-wide issues rather than problems unique to Merit, but a brand that positions itself as clean invites closer scrutiny of its ingredient lists.
What You Can Learn
Solve for time, not trends. Merit’s most valuable insight was that women do not need more products. They need to spend less time getting ready. Every product in the line is designed to be impossible to mess up and fast to apply. If your business can give people time back, you have a value proposition that never goes out of style.
Your fourth company can be your biggest. Katherine Power built Who What Wear, Versed, and Avaline before launching Merit. Each company taught her something about digital-native brands, consumer preferences, and distribution. By the time she launched Merit, she knew how to read audience data, build a DTC channel, negotiate a Sephora deal, and raise exactly enough capital without giving up control. Serial entrepreneurship is not a failure to commit. It is a compounding advantage.
Restraint is a competitive advantage. In an industry where brands feel pressure to launch new products constantly, Merit’s revenue is led by replenishment of its core collection. Fewer SKUs mean lower development costs, simpler supply chains, less inventory risk, and a clearer brand identity. The constraint of “we only make what women will repurchase” has produced better margins and stronger customer loyalty than the “launch something new every month” approach that most beauty brands rely on.
Who campaigns for your brand says more than what they say. Merit cast an 83-year-old former Vogue creative director as the face of a lipstick campaign. That single decision communicated the brand’s target customer more clearly than any positioning document could. The women who buy Merit saw Grace Coddington and recognized a brand that understands them. The women who did not recognize Coddington were never the target.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded Merit?
Katherine Power, a serial entrepreneur who previously co-founded Who What Wear, Versed skincare, and Avaline wine (with Cameron Diaz). She serves as founder and CEO.
How much revenue does Merit generate?
Merit generates approximately $200 million in annual retail sales as of 2025 and confirmed it exceeded $100 million in net revenue in 2024. The brand is profitable.
Where is Merit sold?
Merit is available at Sephora in over 800 stores across the US, Canada, and the UK, as well as through meritbeauty.com. The brand is also expanding into France.
Is Merit being sold?
Merit has hired Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale, but founder Katherine Power has said she is not actively pursuing a deal and is waiting for market conditions to improve. She has said she wants it to be a billion-dollar brand.
How many products does Merit have?
Merit launched with seven products and currently offers roughly 15 to 20 product types across makeup, skincare, fragrance, and tools. The brand intentionally keeps its line small, with revenue growth driven by replenishment of core products rather than constant new launches.
What is Merit’s bestselling product?
The Minimalist, a foundation and concealer stick priced at $38, is Merit’s bestseller. It launched with 20 shades and has since expanded to 30.
Is Merit clean beauty?
Merit markets itself as clean, with products that are vegan, cruelty-free, and formulated without parabens, sulfates, artificial fragrances, and over 1,300 other potential toxins. The brand carries the “Clean at Sephora” designation, though some critics have questioned the specifics of its ingredient claims.
Who invested in Merit?
Merit raised a single $20 million Series A in September 2021, led by L Catterton with participation from Marcy Venture Partners (Jay-Z’s fund) and Sonoma Brands. No additional funding rounds have been announced.
When was Merit founded?
Merit launched in January 2021, in the middle of the pandemic. Founder Katherine Power timed the launch to a year when women had stripped down to bare-faced routines and were ready to add minimal makeup back. The brand sold a product every 17 seconds on launch day.
Who owns Merit?
Founder and CEO Katherine Power retains majority ownership. L Catterton’s Growth Fund led the brand’s only outside round (a $20 million Series A in September 2021) with participation from Marcy Venture Partners and Sonoma Brands. Merit has hired Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale but has not announced a deal.
Sources
- Business of Fashion, “Merit Revenue Nears $200M,” 2025. Revenue figures, Goldman Sachs engagement, growth trajectory, product strategy.
- Business of Fashion, “How Merit Won Over the Grown-Up Glossier Girl,” 2024. Customer demographics, brand positioning, pricing perception.
- PR Newswire, “Merit Launches at Sephora,” February 2021. Launch products, Sephora deal, early sales metrics, celebrity fans.
- PR Newswire, “Merit Completes $20 Million Series A,” September 2021. Funding round details, investors.
- Retail Dive, “DTC Beauty Brand Merit Raises $20M,” 2021. First-week sales velocity, DTC goal exceeded in two weeks.
- Fortune, “The Serial Entrepreneur Behind Merit,” October 2024. Katherine Power background, Avaline growth, xennial targeting.
- Marketing Brew, “Merit Went Viral Twice,” April 2024. Solo Shadow and Kelly Rutherford viral moments, Aila Morin quotes.
- Glossy, “Grace Coddington Is Merit’s Newest Face,” 2024. Grace Coddington campaign, targeting older women.
- Happi, “Merit Drives Over $100 Million in Omni-Channel Retail,” 2023. 2023 retail sales milestone.
- TheIndustry.beauty, “Aila Morin Interview: Five Years of Merit,” 2026. Brand philosophy, pandemic launch timing, founding CMO perspective.