Why Ulta Beauty's Partnering For its First Subscription Box
Call it a pair of firsts: Ulta Beauty has teamed with CURLBOX for a subscription box — marking Ulta’s first subscription box and CURLBOX’s first partnership with a national beauty retailer.
Ulta Beauty views the partnership as a way to expand its reach to consumers, increase access to its assortment, and support product exploration and discovery.
“We know discovering haircare products can be especially challenging and wanted to introduce our textured-hair products easily and affordably,” Jessica Philips Perez, Ulta Beauty VP of merchandising, tells RIS News. “This was the perfect partnership to do just that, and we can’t wait to surprise and delight CURLBOX enthusiasts with our curated boxes.”
She notes that CURLBOX, which curated products for textured hair, has been on Ulta Beauty's radar for some time, as they’ve been at the forefront of BIPOC beauty subscription boxes and have highly engaged subscribers.
“As a values-based company, this partnership is a shining example of our continued, purposeful work to amplify and support underrepresented voices in beauty, and specifically celebrate the undeniable influence CURLBOX has had on BIPOC and textured hair consumers,” she adds. “Together, we’re excited to further empower people to see even more beautiful possibilities.”
Myleik Teele, CURLBOX founder, says 70% of their subscribers shop for haircare products in big-box stores or beauty suppliers, and thus partnering with Ulta Beauty was “a dream come true.”
Three curated Ulta Beauty x CURLBOX boxes will launch this year; the first became available exclusively this month on CURLBOX’s website, and the other two will launch in the fall and around the holidays for CURLBOX subscribers.
Each box includes six, unique full-size products from different brands, including PATTERN and the Mane Choice. Working with Ulta Beauty has given CURLBOX access to brands they wouldn’t otherwise have had, Teele says, citing Mixed Chicks as one example.
As CURLBOX exposes subscribers to new products, providing them access to Ulta’s brands for textured hair may encourage them to consider visiting the retailer.
“Ulta Beauty carries some of the best brands,” Teele notes to RIS, “and I’m excited to share them with subscribers.”
When asked if Ulta expects to launch other subscription services in the near future, Perez said they’re currently focused on the CURLBOX partnership.
Similarly, Teele said that while CURLBOX doesn’t have any immediate plans to partner with other retailers for similar initiatives but would welcome the opportunity.
