Founding

Rhode was launched in June 2022 by Hailey Rhode Bieber. Prior to establishing the company, Bieber had spent years working in the fashion and beauty industries, frequently discussing skincare, makeup, and her personal routines. According to the company, she identified an opportunity for a simplified skincare range consisting of products suitable for everyday use rather than elaborate multi-step regimens. This concept evolved into Rhode: a relatively small collection built around high-performance ingredients and daily usability.[3]

The name Rhode is derived from Bieber’s middle name. The brand intentionally uses lowercase typography—”rhode”—as a core component of its visual identity.

Early growth

Rhode initially operated primarily as a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand through its own website. Its early growth was closely tied to social media, celebrity culture, and Bieber’s existing audience. Rather than immediately establishing a large physical retail network, the company focused on online launches, social-media-driven marketing, limited product releases, and distinctive packaging. This strategy enabled Rhode to build a substantial consumer community relatively quickly.

For the 12 months ending March 31, 2025, Rhode generated US$212 million in net sales, according to e.l.f. Beauty. The parent company also reported that Rhode had more than doubled its consumer base during the preceding year.[3]

A defining element of Rhode’s identity is its intentionally limited product assortment. The brand describes its philosophy as “one of everything really good,” aiming to create a small number of highly usable products instead of encouraging consumers to purchase numerous specialized items.[2] Rhode characterizes its formulas as “edited, efficacious, and intentional.” Skincare products are designed primarily around hydration and skin-barrier maintenance, while makeup products frequently combine cosmetic color with skincare-oriented ingredients.[1]

The company’s stated values include simplicity, affordability, authenticity, quality, and transparency. Formulations are developed in collaboration with dermatologists, cosmetic chemists, and other beauty industry specialists. Rhode states that its products are vegan, fragrance-free, and cruelty-free.[1]

Rhode’s product portfolio has expanded significantly since its 2022 launch.

Peptide Lip Treatment

The Peptide Lip Treatment became one of Rhode’s most recognized products, combining lip hydration with a glossy finish. It helped establish the brand’s distinctive “glazed” aesthetic and became particularly prominent on social media, reinforcing the association with hydrated-looking skin and lips.

Peptide Glazing Fluid

The Peptide Glazing Fluid is a lightweight skincare product designed to provide hydration and a glossy appearance while supporting the skin barrier. Peptides are among the key ingredients emphasized by Rhode, described as active amino acids that can help visibly plump the skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines.[1]

Glazing Milk

Glazing Milk is positioned as a hydrating preparation step within a skincare routine. e.l.f. Beauty describes it as a product intended to hydrate the skin while supporting barrier function over time.[2]

Barrier Butter

Barrier Butter is a richer moisturizing product designed to reinforce the skin barrier and retain moisture, representing Rhode’s continued emphasis on barrier-focused skincare.[2]

Hybrid makeup

Rhode subsequently expanded beyond traditional skincare into hybrid makeup, including products for cheeks, lips, complexion, and other aspects of everyday wear. This expansion is central to the brand’s positioning; rather than separating skincare and cosmetics entirely, Rhode increasingly presents beauty products as serving both functions.[3][4]

One of Rhode’s most influential contributions to contemporary beauty culture is its association with “glazed” skin. This aesthetic emphasizes intensely hydrated-looking skin, a glossy or luminous finish, minimal-looking makeup, healthy-looking texture, and relatively simple routines. The concept became closely linked with Hailey Bieber’s public image and social media presence.

Rhode effectively packaged an aesthetic and lifestyle around its products rather than selling individual items in isolation. Marketing frequently presents products within a broader visual world involving fashion, food, travel, interiors, and everyday lifestyle imagery.

Rhode’s visual identity is notably minimalist, generally featuring lowercase typography, clean packaging, muted and neutral colors, simple product names, compact formats, editorial-style photography, and minimalist digital design. This aesthetic distinguishes Rhode from traditional mass-market cosmetics companies that often utilize colorful packaging and extensive portfolios.

The branding positions Rhode between prestige beauty and accessible beauty. e.l.f. Beauty has specifically described Rhode as a brand that makes aspects of “prestige” beauty more accessible.[3]

Hailey Bieber is integral to Rhode’s identity. Unlike traditional cosmetics companies that hire celebrities primarily as spokespersons, Bieber was involved in the brand’s creation and product philosophy. Following the acquisition by e.l.f. Beauty, she retained an active leadership role. As of the acquisition, her roles included Founder, Chief Creative Officer, Head of Innovation, and Strategic Advisor to e.l.f. Beauty, with responsibilities spanning creative direction, product innovation, and marketing.[3]

Rhode serves as a prominent example of the modern celebrity-founded beauty brand model, where a founder’s personal identity, audience, and cultural influence are integrated with the company’s marketing and product development.

Rhode’s growth has relied heavily on social media and community-based marketing rather than traditional advertising. Key strategies have included Instagram and TikTok engagement, influencer marketing, founder-led content, product-launch moments, visually distinctive packaging, limited releases, user-generated content, celebrity associations, and offline experiential events. Consequently, the brand operates partly as a beauty company and partly as a cultural lifestyle brand.

e.l.f. Beauty reported that Rhode became the No. 1 skincare brand by earned media value in 2024 according to Tribe Dynamics, recording 367% year-over-year growth in that metric.[3]

In its early years, Rhode depended heavily on its own online store, allowing close control over product launches, customer relationships, pricing, brand presentation, inventory releases, and digital marketing. This model created scarcity and anticipation around new releases. Its rapid growth demonstrated how a young beauty company could achieve substantial scale without immediate reliance on traditional department stores or large physical retail networks.

A significant transition occurred in September 2025 when Rhode launched at Sephora in the United States and Canada, marking a shift from its DTC origins toward mainstream physical retail. e.l.f. Beauty described this expansion as the brand’s next stage of growth.[3] As of August 31, 2026, Rhode announced plans for further European Sephora expansion, indicating another phase in its international retail strategy.[4]

On May 28, 2025, e.l.f. Beauty announced an agreement to acquire Rhode. The transaction was structured as US$600 million in cash, US$200 million in e.l.f. Beauty stock, and up to US$200 million in additional earnout payments based on future growth, resulting in a potential total value of US$1 billion.[3]

The acquisition officially closed on August 5, 2025, making Rhode a wholly owned subsidiary of e.l.f. Beauty.[4] The deal was strategically significant for e.l.f. Beauty as it expanded the company’s presence in skincare and provided access to one of the fastest-growing celebrity-founded beauty brands.

Strategic rationale

The acquisition offered several strategic advantages:

• Skincare expansion: While e.l.f. Beauty was historically associated with affordable cosmetics, Rhode provided a rapidly growing skincare and hybrid-beauty brand.
• Global potential: e.l.f. Beauty’s existing international distribution infrastructure could potentially accelerate Rhode’s expansion.
• Social-media strength: Rhode had built substantial cultural influence and engagement without requiring the traditional advertising infrastructure of a larger company.
• Celebrity influence: Hailey Bieber provided a powerful founder-led marketing platform capable of continuing post-acquisition.
• Premium-accessible positioning: Rhode occupies a strategic space between traditional mass-market beauty and luxury/prestige skincare.

e.l.f. Beauty explicitly described the acquisition as a means to diversify its portfolio and expand its skincare presence.[3]

As of 2026, Rhode operates as a brand within the broader e.l.f. Beauty portfolio rather than as an independent company. Hailey Bieber continues to play a significant role in creative direction and product development.[4][1]

Rhode states it is committed to a lower-impact approach to beauty. Initiatives include consciously sourced ingredients, packaging containing post-consumer recycled materials, environmental footprint reduction, vegan formulations, and cruelty-free standards. The brand also operates the Rhode Futures Foundation, which supports organizations addressing barriers affecting women.[1]

Rhode’s rise illustrates several shifts in the modern beauty industry:

• From celebrity endorsement to entrepreneurship: Rhode represents a model where the celebrity is directly involved in founding, developing, and creatively directing the brand, rather than merely promoting existing products.
• From products to aesthetics: The brand promotes an identifiable beauty aesthetic—particularly hydrated, glossy, minimalist skin—rather than only individual products.
• Edited collections: The “one of everything really good” philosophy challenges the conventional model of continuously expanding product lines.[2]
• Omnichannel evolution: Rhode’s transition from an online-first company to Sephora distribution demonstrates how digital-native brands can scale into physical retail.
• Community advantage: Growth highlights the importance of social media communities, where customers participate in creating the visual language and cultural relevance surrounding the brand.

Rhode’s rapid expansion was a primary factor in its attractiveness to e.l.f. Beauty. For the 12 months ending March 31, 2025, e.l.f. Beauty reported US$212 million in Rhode net sales, noting that the consumer base had more than doubled over the previous year. The US$800 million upfront acquisition price represented approximately 3.8× trailing twelve-month sales, with the possibility of an additional US$200 million in earnout payments.[3]

1. about rhode | rhode skin
2. e.l.f. Beauty: A Different Kind of Beauty Company
3. e.l.f. Beauty Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire rhode in $1 Billion Deal – e.l.f. Beauty
4. https://www.sec.gov