Latest news with #CheekboneBeautyCosmeticsInc.
Calgary Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
‘Buy Canadian' boosts local beauty industry. Will tariffs end up reversing that?
Article content For Indigenous-owned Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics Inc., the impact of the Buy Canadian movement has been unmistakable. Article content Article content Jenn Harper, founder of the St. Catharines, Ont.-based cosmetics brand, said the company saw a 52 per cent increase in business in the period between January and April, compared with the same period last year — with a 190 per cent surge in March specifically. Article content Article content Harper said her company has seen significant growth during politically driven events before, such as in 2020 with the Black Lives Matter movement. But they have always been temporary boosts to the business. She is more optimistic about the current growth Cheekbone Beauty is experiencing due to the number of customers who have become repeat buyers. Cheekbone Beauty's sales revenues are in the seven-figure range, with e-commerce sales for 2025 anticipated to grow 40 per cent from 2023, the company said. Article content Article content '(We want) to really become a Canadian makeup brand that all Canadians know about,' Harper said. 'We are here to build a brand that's going to last generations, just like our Indigenous roots.' Article content Article content Article content Cheekbone isn't the only Canadian cosmetics company that has seen heightened interest and loyalty from Canadian beauty buyers in response to the trade war launched by the Trump administration in January: Industry players both small and large told the Financial Post they are seeing sales surge, and are optimistic the change will last. Article content Article content 'We have seen a groundswell of activity and ultimately maybe a permanent shift in consumer behaviour to support Canadian business,' said Charles Wachsberg, the co-founder of Apollo Healthcare Corp., a major Canadian health and beauty private label manufacturer headquartered in Toronto. Wachsberg said the company has produced more than 64,000 products, including lotions, shampoos, baby products and pet products. The company was taken private for $327 million in 2021 and has nine-figure sales, the company said.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Buy Canadian' boosts local beauty industry. Will tariffs end up reversing that?
For Indigenous-owned Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics Inc., the impact of the Buy Canadian movement has been unmistakable. Jenn Harper, founder of the St. Catharines, Ont.-based cosmetics brand, said the company saw a 52 per cent increase in business in the period between January and April, compared with the same period last year — with a 190 per cent surge in March specifically. Harper said her company has seen significant growth during politically driven events before, such as in 2020 with the Black Lives Matter movement. But they have always been temporary boosts to the business. She is more optimistic about the current growth Cheekbone Beauty is experiencing due to the number of customers who have become repeat buyers. Cheekbone Beauty's sales revenues are in the seven-figure range, with e-commerce sales for 2025 anticipated to grow 40 per cent from 2023, the company said. This new interest has led her to rethink the company's goals of focusing on the U.S. to grow: She is now pivoting to building her customer base in Canada first, she said. '(We want) to really become a Canadian makeup brand that all Canadians know about,' Harper said. 'We are here to build a brand that's going to last generations, just like our Indigenous roots.' Cheekbone isn't the only Canadian cosmetics company that has seen heightened interest and loyalty from Canadian beauty buyers in response to the trade war launched by the Trump administration in January: Industry players both small and large told the Financial Post they are seeing sales surge, and are optimistic the change will last. 'We have seen a groundswell of activity and ultimately maybe a permanent shift in consumer behaviour to support Canadian business,' said Charles Wachsberg, the co-founder of Apollo Healthcare Corp., a major Canadian health and beauty private label manufacturer headquartered in Toronto. Wachsberg said the company has produced more than 64,000 products, including lotions, shampoos, baby products and pet products. The company was taken private for $327 million in 2021 and has nine-figure sales, the company said. 'I would say that our Canadian business has surged probably in the vicinity of 20 per cent since the trade war began,' Wachsberg said, adding that Canadian shoppers are paying close attention to product labels as they shop, searching for the maple leaf and checking where the product originates from. 'They're seeking out Canadian innovation and Canadian content in their behaviours, and they're prepared to pay more for it.' This growth in the Canadian beauty industry builds on an existing trajectory. According to market research company Circana Inc., beauty was Canada's fastest growing industry in the first half of 2022. The non-profit Trade Facilitation Office (TFO) Canada estimated the Canadian beauty and personal care market amounted to $11 billion in revenue in 2023, forecasting the market to grow 1.76 per cent between 2023 and 2028. Australia-based market research firm Ibisworld Pty Ltd. pegged the Canadian cosmetic and beauty product manufacturing market in Canada at $4.2 billion in 2024, which increased 0.1 per cent in 2024. The question is whether the trade war will enable growth in the sector in Canada or hinder it. Trade association Cosmetics Alliance Canada identified about 60 Canadian brands within the sector, with most being small- to mid-sized companies. 'Their market share today is not anywhere near that of the big brands, but there are certainly opportunities for them to grow,' said Darren Praznik, the organization's president and chief executive. 'And certainly retailers are expressing a greater interest in them.' Vancouver-headquartered skincare company Elleboxco Inc., operating as Blume, has seen a dramatic surge in Canadian sales, including through its various retail partners, such as Sephora Canada and Inc., according to its founders Bunny and Taran Ghatrora. The venture-backed company, which launched in 2018 and has raised more than $3 million according to Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, is on pace for eight-figure revenues this fiscal year, Bunny Ghatrora said. Blume's Canadian sales have grown 35 per cent year-over-year so far in 2025, with 25 per cent growth overall, the company said. Still, despite swelling demand from local buyers, Canadian beauty companies aren't immune to the negative consequences of a trade war. Smaller brands are particularly vulnerable, especially if they depend on U.S. sales. 'A Canadian business cannot survive without the U.S. market,' Cheekbone's Harper said. 'We need the U.S. consumer.' Canadian beauty firms can face higher costs associated with manufacturing their products as well, since many ingredients and packaging components cannot be sourced locally. Blume, for example, uses German chamomile flower as one of its product's ingredients and sources bottles and droppers from China. 'The cosmetic industry is probably one of the most internationally integrated,' said Cosmetic Alliance's Praznik. 'They manufacture and distribute and sell their products in supply and distribution chains that are like a web around the world.' In fact, many small Canadian-owned brands looking to grow and expand internationally often end up getting bought out by large American companies that can operate on a bigger scale. Examples include Toronto-founded MAC Cosmetics Inc. and skincare company DECIEM Inc., owner of brands such as The Ordinary, both acquired by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. 'Our industry has been very supportive of free trade around the world and that is because it has meant great efficiencies in production,' Praznik said, citing benefits from better quality and less expensive products to more options for the consumer. 'So, everyone has benefited.' As Canadian cosmetics companies grapple with the fallout from tariffs, they are weighing a variety of strategies. While Blume has primarily focused on North American sales, the Ghatrora sisters said the trade war has prompted them to more seriously consider expanding to countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia to diversify the company's customer base. Praznik said some Canadian manufacturers are evaluating whether they can import Chinese-made components directly to Vancouver and not via the U.S. Others are looking into using custom manufacturers in other countries to make certain products and avoid tariffs. For instance, one option would be to make a product for the U.S. market in the U.S., while manufacturing products for Canadians and other countries in Canada, Praznik said. Montreal-based Groupe Marcelle Inc., on the other hand, has always prioritized the Canadian market, with some exports to the U.S. and online sales to other countries, said the company's president David Cape. Groupe Marcelle is Canada's largest home-grown cosmetics company, with revenues of about $147 million in 2024 according to Ibisworld. Its brands, including Marcelle, Watier and Annabelle, are sold through retailers such as Shoppers Drug Mart across the country. Many of the company's products are manufactured in Montreal, which means it has not needed to pass on higher costs to Canadian consumers, Cape said. At the onset of the Buy Canadian movement, Cape said many beauty buyers in pursuit of Canadian-owned brands began trying out Groupe Marcelle products for the first time and major retailers approached the company immediately to determine how they could meet the additional demand. But jittery consumers may yet counteract the nationalist sentiment driving the Canadian beauty industry's current growth. Trade tensions have caused many consumers to pull back on their discretionary spending, according to a TD Economics report in March. Marcelle is seeing slightly more growth in its mass beauty lines, which are at more affordable price points compared with its prestige Watier line, as consumers are being more careful with their dollars, Cape said. While there is an advantage with consumers to being a Canadian company, Cape said the trade war is still not good for the economy overall. Battle lines drawn as steel producers push 'Buy Canadian' to fight tariffs and dumping Will five teams in the NHL playoffs (and a surge of patriotism) mean ka-ching for Canada? 'We want to see it come to an end and the sooner the better,' said Cape. 'And even when it does, we still hope that … people will remember buying Canadian is a good thing for our country in any situation.' • Email: slouis@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
