“What if the next beauty trend isn’t a product, but a movement?” That’s the gauntlet thrown by the 2025 Sephora Accelerate class with each bold step. While other companies quietly dial back on diversity efforts, Sephora is doubling down, showcasing Black female founders who are redefining the game and the payoff is nothing short of inspiring.
This year’s Accelerate class is not just about creating new brands; it’s about redefining beauty, who gets to decide, and how the industry can facilitate real change. From luxurious fragrances to climate-resilient hair products, these entrepreneurs are proving that innovation and diversity go hand in hand. Here, a deeper dive into the women and the tactics building a new beauty and business standard.
1. INFLUXIOUS: Scent as Self-Expression
Funmi Monet, aka the “queen” of #FragranceTok, is on a mission to make scent more than an afterthought. Her brand, INFLUXIOUS, seeks to treat scent as an individual accessory, something intended to call upon emotion and speak for itself. Monet’s mantra? “I wanted to create a brand that honored scent as self-expression luxurious, but easy indulgent, but intentional,” she told Essence. Each of her bottles is based on her own belief that fragrance is storytelling, a belief she learned from her very first crush, Britney Spears’ Fantasy, in middle school.
With Sephora’s Accelerate program, Monet gained the capital to build her business from the ground up. “Receiving Sephora’s initial feedback allowed me to make smarter supply chain decisions and improved unit economics,” she stated. The grant and advice gave her “room to breathe” to dream bigger, even potentially launching Sephora.com down the line. Her experience is proof that luxury and inclusivity can and do coexist.
2. The Potion Studio: Pure, Climate-Friendly Haircare
Aziza El Wanni’s The Potion Studio was born from necessity, not just ambition. Growing up with textured hair in spaces that didn’t celebrate it, she found most products either ineffective or full of harmful ingredients. Her solution? “Clean, climate-adaptive haircare that doesn’t compromise on performance or simplicity,” she explained to Essence. Every formula is crafted as a “love letter to your hair,” inspired by her childhood ritual of applying Luster’s Pink Oil Moisturizer.
The Accelerate program provided El Wanni with strategic guidance and mentorship, helping her scale intentionally and sustainably. “The mentorship and strategic guidance on merchandising provided me with vision on how to scale intentionally and sustainably,” she explained. The mission behind The Potion Studio is all about empowering textured hair to flourish in any condition making self-care accessible and uplifting for all.
3. The Steam Bar: Skinification of the Scalp
Judy Koloko’s The Steam Bar is pioneering scalp care with luxury blended with science. Her inspiration was frustration with bad quality hair experiences in upscale settings. Koloko thought there was a gap in the market for those servicing wigs, weaves, or natural hair. Her fix? “Skincare for the scalp Skinification meets the art of Steaming,” she said. Her initial beauty fixation a hot oil treatment at London’s Boots initiated a lifetime practice that now informs her brand’s ethos.
Koloko’s pop-up salon experience, to launch in the US, is an immersive odyssey: “Bridgerton meets steam.” By servicing the distinct needs of textured hair communities, The Steam Bar is addressing a gaping industry deficit and challenging the world to treat scalp care as self-care.
4. TONAL Cosmetics: Makeup That Can Endure Real Life
Christal Alert introduced TONAL Cosmetics into the world in frustration with makeup that wouldn’t stand up to real life. “Most makeup is formulated in boardrooms or labs that have no idea what it’s like to actually wear makeup outside of ideal weather conditions,” she told Essence. TONAL is Caribbean-designed and proven to withstand heat, humidity, and stress because, as Alert insists, “if it can make it here, it can make it anywhere.”
Outside of performance, TONAL’s packaging is sculptural and celebratory, bringing joy back to the beauty routine. Alert, who grew up in the Caribbean, has a natural inclusive worldview of beauty: “There’s no one version of what’s ‘beautiful.’ You see every skin tone, every texture, every shape, and it all exists together.” TONAL is makeup that celebrates real life and real diversity.
5. Sephora Accelerate: A Launchpad for BIPOC Innovation
The Accelerate program isn’t just a mentorship program, it’s a full-on launchpad. Six months of founders get mentored, merchandised, grant-funded, and investor-introduced. Members enjoy 1:1 advising, an advisory board, and dedicated sessions with industry trailblazers like Nancy Twine (Briogeo) and Amy Liu (Tower 28).
Since converting to a founders of colour focus in 2021, more than half of recent cohorts’ brands are now located at Sephora a testament to the program’s success. As Priya Venkatesh, Global Chief Merchandising Officer at Sephora, put it simply: “This program has become a proven platform for championing diverse founders and empowering them with the resources, expertise, and community they need to launch and thrive.”
6. The Power of Storytelling and Representation
Sephora’s commitment to diversity goes deeper than shelf space. Sephora commits to narrative storytelling to create movements, not brands. In their documentary “Beauty & Belonging,” there are more than 75 employees and founders sharing the story of the importance of representation in beauty. Jenny Cheah, managing director for Southeast Asia & Oceania at Sephora, summarized it nicely: “At Sephora, everything that we do is guided by our purpose to champion a world of inspiration and inclusion where everyone can celebrate their beauty.”
This kind of storytelling helps to form deeper connections, sparks change throughout the industry, and makes each customer feel heard and valued.
7. Overcoming Racial Bias and Building Retail That’s Inclusive
Sephora doesn’t rest there. In response to the commissioning of a national study on racial bias in retail, the company rolled out a comprehensive action plan to decrease bias in marketing, merchandising, store experience, and talent. Anti-racism, unconscious bias, and cultural allyship training modules are companywide requirements for all employees, and a Diversity & Inclusion Dashboard tracks progress in real time.
The result? A store experience in which belonging is more than a slogan it’s the foundation of the customer experience.
8. The 15% Pledge and Corporate Activism
In 2020, Sephora became the first large-box retailer to sign the 15% Pledge, committing to allocate 15% of its shelf space to Black-owned businesses. This move, in addition to millions of dollars in yearly grants and partnerships with organisations like Tides, demonstrates Sephora’s consistent dedication to racial justice and BIPOC business ownership.
Sephora’s strategy isn’t just about checking boxes it’s about creating lasting impact, a reputation that speaks to consumers, and a new standard for corporate social responsibility.
9. Mentorship, Community, and Lasting Impact
What actually differentiates the Accelerate program is its focus on community and lifetime mentorship. Founders have ongoing access to a network of industry leaders, mentors, and other founders. Briogeo founder Nancy Twine, who also serves as an Accelerate advisor, summed it up best: “The Sephora Accelerate program is designed to educate and assist rising entrepreneurs and prepare them for success as business founders.”
This network of collaboration and mentorship ensures that Black women founders and all BIPOC founders aren’t just building brands. They’re building legacies.
The 2025 Sephora Accelerate program is more than a business incubator it’s a force for change. Through empowering Black women founders and having faith in their imaginations, Sephora is reimagining beauty, one innovation at a time. For beauty lovers and diversity advocates alike, these narratives are more than a trend more than the future.
