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After a thorough review of dozens of applicants, the Council members of Project Connect: Bridging the Digital Divide are pleased to announce Hue Beauty as the winner of WWD and Unilever Prestige’s newest scholarship program.
Founded by Janvi Shah, Nicole Clay and Sylvan Guo, Hue Beauty represents Project Connect’s vision to advance the industry by bridging the gap between technology and the human touch. Purposefully, the beauty tech startup was born out of personal struggle with a lack of representation in beauty and was created to fill the inclusivity gap in the market. Hue Beauty offers a clear solution between technology and touch with its unique photo imaging platform, the social community of “Skin Twins†beauty consultants and physical sampling kits.
Hue Beauty was selected by the Project Connect Council after meeting various criteria examining how the project applicant clearly defined and resolved a problem in the marketplace, whether the company is prioritizing social impact and whether there is industry advancement in bridging the digital separation between Technology and human touch.
Council members include Vasiliki Petrou, Executive Vice President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Prestige; Amanda Smith, president of Fairchild Media Group (parent company of WWD); Carla Nelson, founder of the Black Fashion World Foundation; Kevin Fried, Director of Retail at Google; John Melo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amyris; and Vicky Tsai, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tatcha.
A connected journey
Three women of color, Shah, Clay and Guo, told WWD that they were struggling to get into the beauty industry and find makeup products that best suited our skin tone – even though they were all at different points on the color spectrum . Unfortunately, the makeup inclusivity gap is a problem that many women face today.
“Growing up we all felt we were out of the mainstream beauty standards and were inspired to combine our backgrounds in beauty and technology to solve this problem,” said the founders. “When we started talking to customers, we realized it wasn’t us alone – people want to see real, everyday people like themselves trying on makeup products. However, it was time consuming and often unsuccessful to find someone who matched his skin tone and problems. “
Additionally, Shah, Clay, and Guo found that there are over 68,000 unique makeup colors on the market today, making finding the right shade for their own skin tone the biggest concern for consumers when shopping for makeup online has made. “Beauty brands know this is a problem and spend over 70 percent of their marketing budget on sampling or digital tools, which is a huge cost, but no solution will solve the problem, resulting in low purchase conversion.”
In addition, according to the founders of Hue Beauty, “brands also want deeper, more targeted customer loyalty and are looking for tools that promote the conversion and repeat purchase of Teint products.”
Shah, Clay and Guo in particular found that none of the solutions on the market offered the personalized solution consumers are looking for.
“That’s why we started our company,†they continued. “We’ve studied the market, existing technologies and customers and believe that Hue will revolutionize the industry with solutions that bridge the gap between technology and touch. Many have tried to solve the problem of color matching online, but we’ve heard from countless beauty brand buyers and executives that none of them got there. “
“We felt that the human element was missing,” said the team. “We spent hours searching YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for people with similar skin tones to see which products would look good on our skin. Customers are craving personalized product recommendations from trustworthy sources more than evermonly from friends or ‘genuine influencers’ (micro influencers who share authentic advice and product information). “
Similar to certain micro-influencers, Hue Beauty’s “Skin Twins†provide a trustworthy source while also allowing customers to shop with people who share their specific skin tone and problems. But giving consumers access to experts is only part of the Hue solution.
Ready to become the industry-wide “Pantone†standard for color matching, Hue Beauty integrates directly with beauty brand e-commerce websites and helps shoppers find the perfect shades for their skin tone through a combination of “Skin Twins†photo technology Find. and tailor-made color sample sets to try on at home. There is currently no standardization for skin tone in the beauty industry.
Hue beauty.
Courtesy image.
“The combination of beauty technology, community and sampling (human touch) is what we think sets us apart,” said Shah, Clay and Guo. “Our photo technician will recommend three shades, and our Skin Twin community enables customers to verify their color recommendations through high quality color swatches and reviews from real people with a similar skin tone. Since existing digital tools do not lack a human touch, the “Skin Twin†community differentiates the experience by offering customers a platform for direct interaction and promoting human connection. Finally, sampling enables consumers to test not only their preferred color match, but also the wear and coverage on their skin. “
Already in beta with brand partners and buyers, the company is committed to working with brands across the industry to work together to solve the long-standing problem of color matching online. Through the unique combination of technology and human touch, the founders of Hue Beauty aim to accelerate the sale of makeup in e-commerce by achieving near 100 percent accuracy in color matching – compared to existing solutions, which on average only 70 percent are accurate.
Going forward, Shah, Clay and Guo “see an opportunity to become the industry standard ‘Pantone’ for color matching, expanding from primers to other color categories such as lip, eye, skin care, nails and global markets. We also envision expanding our “Skin Twin†concept beyond skin tones to include other dimensions such as skin type and age. As we grow our customer base, our long-term vision is to become the backbone of the home beauty shopping experience and personalize the shopping experience based on a customer’s Hue profile. “
“Project Connect will help us breakthrough our goal of becoming an industry standard, as Unilever Prestige and WWD will give us direct contact with leading beauty brands across the industry with whom we can work to enhance our color matching platform to develop. Additionally, as we scale our business, we will benefit greatly from support from Unilever’s industry leaders. “
Project Connect Council members recognize Hue Beauty
Vasiliki Petrou, Executive Vice President of Unilever Prestige.
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Vasiliki Petrou, Executive Vice President and Group CEO, Unilever Prestige
“At the intersection of technology, touch and purpose, Hue Beauty not only helps people connect with the brands they love, but also with the community around them. We’re excited to celebrate Hue as a Project Connect winner and help scale their mission to set a new standard for representation in the industry. Their innovative, purpose-driven model has the potential to shape the future of the market, and I can’t wait to see them grow! “
Amanda Smith, President, Fairchild Fashion Media
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Amanda Smith, President of the Fairchild Media Group
“I was immediately drawn to the work of Hue Beauty because they solve a common problem of finding the perfect base color for our individual skin tones with a technology platform that uses a community and offers sampling. I will follow their success and cheer them on! “
Kevin Fried, Director of Retail at Google.
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Kevin Fried, Director of Retail, Google
“Hue Beauty is a brand that was founded and developed with a customer-centric mindset – that embodies exactly what consumers want in the products they buy. Makeup is a category of experience, so the creative use of technology to match skin tones, the engagement of a branding community, and the availability of samples to try on at home combine the best digital and retail experiences to exceed customer expectations. Brands that evolve digitally to enable immersive experiences, whether shopping on your phone or in a store aisle, will determine the brands that continue to grow in this dynamic retail landscape. “
Carla Nelson, founder of the Black Fashion World Foundation.
Keston Duke
Carla Nelson, Founder, Black Fashion World Foundation
“There is a season and a time for every business, and this is the time for Hue Beauty. Hue Beauty is revolutionizing the industry and is sure to be a dominant force for decades to come. I am very excited that this talented, diverse team of women is winning the Project Connect scholarship, and I look forward to trying their service! “
Vicky Tsai, founder and CEO of Tatcha.
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Vicky Tsai, Founder and CEO, Tatcha
“I’m so excited about Hue Beauty. As a woman who also struggled with representation in the beauty industry, I was immediately drawn to Hue’s mission. I can’t wait to see how they bring their vision to life and help shape the future of beauty! “
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