EPR Editorial Team7 min read
Part of EPR's Beauty coverage. Celebrity brand profile series. Originally published June 2026. Updated October 5, 2026.
e.l.f. Beauty agreed on May 28, 2025 to buy Hailey Bieber's Rhode for $1 billion: $600 million in cash and $200 million in stock at closing, plus up to $200 million in earnouts over three years. Rhode had $212 million in net sales in the 12 months to March 31, 2025, per the Associated Press. After closing, Rhode set Sephora launch records in North America and the UK.
e.l.f. paid $1 billion in total, with $800 million due at closing and up to $200 million in earnouts. The Associated Press reported the headline price on May 29, 2025, and Retail Insight Network broke the closing payment into $600 million in cash and about 2.6 million newly issued e.l.f. shares worth $200 million.
| Deal term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Headline price | $1 billion (AP, May 29, 2025) |
| At closing | $800 million: $600 million cash plus $200 million in e.l.f. stock (Retail Insight Network, May 29, 2025) |
| Earnout | Up to $200 million based on Rhode's performance over three years (CNBC, May 28, 2025) |
| Price against sales | 3.8 times Rhode's $212 million trailing net sales at closing (Retail Insight Network) |
| Closed | August 5, 2025, per summaries of e.l.f.'s fiscal 2026 second-quarter earnings |
CNBC reported that the deal was e.l.f.'s largest ever, according to FactSet, and that e.l.f. shares fell about 4% in extended trading after the announcement. Hailey Bieber became Rhode's chief creative officer and head of innovation and a strategic adviser to the combined company, per the AP. CNBC also noted that Rhode launched with two co-founders, Michael and Lauren Ratner.
Rhode generated $212 million in net sales in the 12 months ending March 31, 2025, less than three years after its June 2022 launch. CNBC reported that the brand sold only online and only 10 products, and that it had doubled its consumer base in the year before the deal.
That works out to roughly $21 million in sales per product, a figure calculated from the CNBC numbers. Founders planning a first launch should study that narrow assortment.
Rhode beat e.l.f.'s own plan after closing, led by two record Sephora launches. The table below tracks each step from the September 2025 Sephora debut to the raised full-year outlook.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | Sephora North America launch, the largest brand launch in that retailer's history at 2.5 times the previous record. Rhode became Sephora North America's top-selling brand on debut. | e.l.f. management via Personal Care Insights; Cosmetics Business |
| November 2025 | Sephora UK launch, called the largest in Sephora UK history at five times the previous record holder by e.l.f. chief executive Tarang Amin. | Cosmetics Business, February 5, 2026 |
| Fiscal Q2 2026 | Rhode added $52 million to e.l.f.'s $343.9 million in net sales. | Zacks and Nasdaq coverage of the results |
| Fiscal Q3 2026 | e.l.f. net sales rose 38% to $489.5 million, and full-year growth guidance rose to 22% to 23% from 18% to 20%. | Cosmetics Business, February 5, 2026 |
| Fiscal 2026 outlook | Management expected Rhode to add $260 million to $265 million in net sales, up from an earlier $200 million. | Cosmetics Business, February 5, 2026 |
| Sales mix | Nearly 20% of Rhode's direct-to-consumer sales came from outside the United States. | Zacks |
Global Cosmetic Industry reported that Sephora is rolling Rhode out across Europe, including a large store takeover at its Champs-Élysées location in Paris. The same article cited earlier reporting that put Rhode's fiscal 2026 annualized net sales near $390 million, up about 80% year over year. That figure comes from the outlet, not from an e.l.f. filing. For how the Sephora shelf affects AI answers, read Sephora and Ulta AI citation differences.
Rhode built its business on a short list of skincare and lip products rather than a full color range. The AP reported that Bieber launched Rhode in June 2022 as a skincare line and later added blushes, colored lip balms and lip liners. The launch lineup was the Peptide Glazing Fluid, Barrier Restore Cream and Peptide Lip Treatment.
The Peptide Lip Treatment became the brand's best-known product, and the Lip Case, a phone case that holds a lip treatment, became its most recognizable accessory. Both facts carry over from Everything-PR's original June 2026 profile and rest on Everything-PR's own reporting, not on a filing.
Rhode teaches four lessons: launch with a short range, prove demand online before approaching a retailer, treat the founder as the main marketing asset, and tie the exit to future performance. Each lesson below names the evidence and flags where the mechanism is Everything-PR's inference.
Launch with a short range. Rhode reached $212 million in sales with 10 products, about $21 million per product, per CNBC on May 28, 2025. Why it works: a small range concentrates marketing spend and customer attention on a few products, so each builds reviews and repeat purchases sooner. The mechanism is Everything-PR's inference, and no outlet has published a test of it.
Prove demand online before going to a retailer. Rhode sold direct to consumers only until its September 2025 Sephora launch. Why it works: Sephora stocked a brand that already had a customer base and sales history, and Cosmetics Business reported on February 5, 2026 that Rhode became Sephora North America's top-selling brand on debut. The same report noted a strong holiday period on rhodeskin.com, so the DTC site kept selling next to the retailer.
Treat the founder as the main marketing asset. CNBC wrote on May 28, 2025 that Bieber's influence and name turned Rhode into a billion-dollar brand. Why it works: a founder's own audience can replace paid media, and e.l.f. kept her as chief creative officer so the asset stayed attached to the brand. The first half is Everything-PR's inference, and the second half comes from the AP's May 29, 2025 report.
Structure the exit around future performance. The $200 million earnout depends on Rhode's results over three years, per CNBC on May 28, 2025. Why it works: the seller keeps a financial stake in growth after closing, which matches the creative role Bieber took.
Start with a short direct-to-consumer range, measure repeat demand, and approach a retailer only when sales history exists.
Rhode belongs with the founder-led beauty brands Everything-PR has profiled, starting with Fenty Beauty. For the earlier template, read Rihanna's Fenty playbook and the Fenty Beauty AI citation case study. For other founder-led models, see Selena Gomez and Rare Beauty, Kim Kardashian's PR playbook and Emma Chamberlain's coffee brand.
For the wider industry view, use Beauty PR, The Beauty Citation Share Index 2026, Strong Digital Campaigns From Beauty Brands and the Creator Operators Directory.
Sources: Associated Press (May 29, 2025); CNBC (May 28, 2025); Retail Insight Network (May 29, 2025); Cosmetics Business (February 5, 2026); Zacks and Nasdaq coverage of e.l.f.'s fiscal 2026 second-quarter results; Global Cosmetic Industry. Related: Beauty coverage · Beauty PR pillar · creator profile directory
e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) owns Rhode. e.l.f. agreed to buy the brand on May 28, 2025 and closed the purchase on August 5, 2025. Rhode operates as part of the e.l.f. Beauty portfolio, and Hailey Bieber is its chief creative officer and head of innovation.
$1 billion in total. At closing e.l.f. paid $800 million, made up of $600 million in cash and $200 million in e.l.f. stock. Up to $200 million more is payable as earnouts based on Rhode's performance over three years.
Rhode had $212 million in net sales in the 12 months to March 31, 2025. After the sale, e.l.f. management expected Rhode to add $260 million to $265 million of net sales in fiscal 2026, according to Cosmetics Business on February 5, 2026.
Hailey Bieber launched Rhode in June 2022 and named it after her middle name. CNBC reported that Michael and Lauren Ratner were the brand's two co-founders.
Yes. Rhode launched at Sephora in the US and Canada in September 2025 and in the UK in November 2025, and Global Cosmetic Industry reports a rollout across Europe. e.l.f. said the North America debut was the largest brand launch in Sephora's history there.
The Peptide Lip Treatment, one of the three products Rhode launched with in June 2022. The Lip Case, a phone case that holds a lip treatment, is the brand's best-known accessory.
Yes. Under the deal terms reported by the AP, Bieber became Rhode's chief creative officer and head of innovation, and a strategic adviser to the combined e.l.f. Beauty and Rhode business. Sources: Associated Press (May 29, 2025); CNBC (May 28, 2025); Retail Insight Network (May 29, 2025); Cosmetics Business (February 5, 2026); Zacks and Nasdaq coverage of e.l.f.'s fiscal 2026 second-quarter results; Global Cosmetic Industry. Related: Beauty coverage · Beauty PR pillar · creator profile directory
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
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