{{Short description|American cosmetics company}} {{Infobox company |name = Julep Beauty Inc. |logo = Julep logo.svg |type = [[Subsidiary]] |industry = [[Personal care]] |founded = 2007 in [[Seattle]] |founder = Jane Park |hq_location = [[New York City]] |area_served = United States |parent = [[AS Beauty]] |products = Nail polish, cosmetics, beauty products |website = {{URL|https://www.julep.com/}} }}
'''Julep Beauty, Inc.''' New York based [[cosmetics]] company founded in 2007 by Jane Park. The company sells its products online and in its own branded beauty parlors
==History== In 2007 Julep opened four nail parlors in the Seattle area that offered manicures, pedicures, facials, and waxing.<ref name=WSJ>{{cite web|last=Chapman|first=Lizette|title=Julep Beauty Raises $30M to Give Big Beauty a Makeover with Crowdsourcing|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-VCDB-14343|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=April 14, 2014|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://seattlebusinessmag.com/article/jane-park%25E2%2580%2599s-winning-strategy-julep|title=Jane Park's winning strategy at Julep|date=January 16, 2014|magazine=Seattle Business Magazine}}</ref> Park sold Julep nail care products at the parlors— which was used as a testing ground for Julep product.<ref name="SBM">{{cite magazine|url=https://seattlebusinessmag.com/retail/jane-park80%2599s-winning-strategy-julep/|title=Jane Park's winning strategy at Julep|last=Hilmes|first=Kelsey|magazine=Seattle Business Magazine|date=January 16, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nailsmag.com/389793/a-taste-of-southern-hospitality-in-seattle|title=A Taste of Southern Hospitality — in Seattle|last=Schlosser|first=Nicole|magazine=Nails Magazine|date=December 1, 2007}}</ref><ref name=ST>{{cite web|last=Martinez|first=Amy|title=Julep raises $10 million for beauty-brand expansion|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/julep-raises-10-million-for-beauty-brand-expansion/|work=[[Seattle Times]]|date=28 February 2013 |access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref>
Julep moved into e-commerce in 2008.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/12/juleps-original-k-beauty-guru-jane-park | title=Julep's Original K-Beauty Guru: Jane Park | website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] | date=20 December 2017 }}</ref> By 2013, Julep products were also available through retailers such as [[Sephora]], and on TV though [[QVC]].<ref name="ST" /><ref name=Forbes>{{cite magazine|last=Tice|first=Carol|title=How Social Media Is Fueling The Next $1B Beauty Brand|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/caroltice/2014/01/22/girlfriend-power/|magazine=[[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]]|date=January 22, 2014}}</ref> Also in 2013, Julep opened its first pop-up store in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/Julep_pops_up_in_New_York/94110|title=Julep pops up in New York|website=www.cosmeticsbusiness.com|date=December 11, 2013|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> Julep reported it had tripled its e-commerce revenue in 2013.<ref name=Geek>{{cite web|last=Soper|first=Taylor|title=Venture-backed beauty startup Julep is crowdfunding its new bendable nail-polishing tool|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2014/julep-crowdfunding-new-product-plie/|publisher=Geekwire|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> In March 2015, Julep announced that they were laying off 8% of their staff.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cook|first=John|title=Seattle cosmetics startup Julep cuts 8% of staff|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2015/seattle-cosmetics-startup-julep-cuts-8-percent-of-staff/|website=Geekwire|date=March 31, 2015|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref>
In December 2018, Julep's parent company, Glansaol, filed for bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/behind-glansaols-bankruptcy-1202939765/|title=Behind Glansaol's Bankruptcy|last=Collins|first=Allison|date=December 20, 2018|work=[[Women's Wear Daily]]|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> As a result, Julep announced plans to close their two retail locations, lay-off over 100 employees, and relocate to its parent company's New York office.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2018/12/26/julep-beauty-lay-off-closure.html|title=Julep Beauty plans to lay off 102 employees in 'closure'|last=Stewart|first=Ashley|date=December 26, 2018|work=Puget Sound Business Journal|access-date=November 23, 2022|publisher=[[American City Business Journals]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Glansaol sold to AS Beauty for $18 million.<ref>https://www.geekwire.com/2019/happened-julep-high-profile-online-cosmetics-startup-went-acquisition-bankruptcy-2-years/</ref>
Julep introduced its monthly subscription service, Julep Maven, in 2011. Subscribers or “Mavens” pay a monthly fee to receive custom boxes of nail polish and makeup.<ref name="Forbes"/> Subscribers may also act as beta-testers in the company's Idea Lab, answering surveys and posting on social media, allowing Julep to see how their products in development are being received.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brodesser-Akner|first=Taffy|author-link=Taffy Brodesser-Akner|title=Minting Julep: How Former Starbucks Exec Jane Park is Reimagining the Beauty Business|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3023331/jane-park-minting-julep|publisher=Fast Company|date=January 13, 2014|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Dunn|first=Laura|title=Women in Business Q&A: Jane Park, CEO of Julep Beauty|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/women-in-business-qa-jane_b_5608852|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=July 22, 2014|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> In 2014, Julep's subscription service the company received an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB's David Quinlan said about the 173 total complaints made during that period.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Connie|title=Nail polish retailer Julep vows to polish up customer service|url=https://komonews.com/news/consumer/nail-polish-retailer-julep-vows-to-polish-up-customer-service-11-20-2015|publisher=Komo News|date=September 19, 2014|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> Julep responded with a statement blaming the influx of complaints on a surge in business and shipping errors. The program relaunched in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|last=Soper|first=Taylor|title=Beauty startup Julep receives 'F' rating from Better Business Bureau over subscription program|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2014/julep-rating-bbb/|publisher=GeekWire|access-date=November 23, 2022|date=September 22, 2014}}</ref>
==Financing== In 2013, Julep received funding from venture capital firms [[Andreessen Horowitz]], [[Maveron]], [[Troy Carter (music industry)|Troy Carter]], as well as Precedent Investments, backed by [[Will Smith]] and [[Jada Pinkett Smith]], and [[Jay-Z|Jay Z]] and [[Beyoncé]]’s [[Roc Nation]].<ref name="ST"/> The following year, [[Altimeter Capital]], Azure Capital Partners and [[Madrona Venture Group]] also invested in Julep.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2014/julep-raises-30m/|title=Julep raises $30M in oversubscribed round, looks to build big beauty brand|last=Cook|first=John|date=April 14, 2014|website=GeekWire|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> By April 2014, Julep had raised $56M in [[venture capital financing]].<ref name=TCrunch>{{cite web|last=Rao|first=Leena|title=Beauty And E-Commerce Brand Julep Raises $30M To Disrupt The $160B Cosmetics Industry|date=14 April 2014 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/14/beauty-and-ecommerce-brand-julep-raises-30m-for-to-disrupt-the-cosmetics-industry/|publisher=TechCrunch|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref>
==Products== Julep designs, produces and sells its own products.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Claire Cain|title=A Start-Up Aims to Upend E-Commerce by Selling Nail Polish|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/a-start-up-aims-to-upend-e-commerce-by-selling-nail-polish/?partner=rss|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 28, 2013|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> The company sold in excess of 200 shades of nail polish,<ref name=Julep>{{cite web|title=Nail Polish|url=http://www.julep.com/shop/nail-polish.html#.|publisher=Julep|access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref> each of which is given a woman's name. It also has a line of makeup and skin care products.<ref name="WSJ"/> These have included both sun screens and moisturizers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.elitedaily.com/p/juleps-no-excuses-invisible-sunscreen-gel-review-is-proof-that-you-can-wear-spf-under-makeup-9997276 | title=This Sunscreen Won't Mess up Your Makeup or Show up in Photos & These Pics Prove It | date=6 August 2018 }}</ref> In 2014, Julep produced the Plié Wand, an ergonomic nail polishing brush that attaches to the top of nail polish caps.<ref name=BizWomen>{{cite web|last=Chen|first=I-Chun|title=Jane Park's Julep just put a nice polish on crowdfunding|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/2014/03/jane-parks-julep-just-put-a-nice-polish-on.html|publisher=Biz Journals|date=March 13, 2014|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> The wand was first tested through a crowdfunding campaign.<ref name="Geek"/><ref name="Venture">{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2014/01/28/cosmetics-startup-julep-whizzes-by-rivals-with-its-crowdsourced-approach-to-making-products/|title=Cosmetics startup Julep whizzes by rivals with its crowdsourced approach to making makeup|last=Grant|first=Rebecca|publisher=Venture Beat|date=January 28, 2014|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> In 2021 the company released the Julep Beauty's Eyeshadow 101 Crème-to-Powder Eyeshadow Stick, which became the bestseller on Amazon.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instyle.com/julep-creme-to-powder-eyeshadow-stick-amazon-7111933 | title=Shoppers Say Amazon's Best-Selling Eyeshadow Stick Lasts up to 24 Hours Without a Touch-Up }}</ref> The company promotes its products as free of fumes and toxins.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/12/juleps-original-k-beauty-guru-jane-park|last=Grinnell|first=Sunhee|title=Julep's Original K-Beauty Guru: Jane Park|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=December 20, 2017}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
[[Category:Personal care brands]] [[Category:2007 establishments in Washington (state)]] [[Category:Cosmetics companies of the United States]] [[Category:Companies based in Seattle]] [[Category:Companies based in New York City]]