When e.l.f. Beauty announced it was acquiring Rhode in a deal worth up to $1 billion, the headline wasn't surprising because a celebrity had launched another skincare brand.

The surprising part was how quickly Rhode got there.

Founded in 2022, the brand generated $212 million in net sales in the 12 months ending March 31, 2025. It more than doubled its consumer base in a year, became the No. 1 skincare brand by Earned Media Value (EMV) in 2024, and achieved 367% year-over-year EMV growth before expanding into Sephora.

For marketers, those numbers raise a more interesting question.

What exactly did Rhode do differently?

It's tempting to point to Hailey Bieber's audience.

Celebrity certainly accelerated awareness.

But awareness alone doesn't explain why one celebrity beauty brand reaches a billion-dollar valuation while dozens of others struggle to stay relevant.

Rhode's growth wasn't built on celebrity alone.

It reflected several larger shifts happening across consumer behavior, creator marketing, ecommerce, and brand building.

Those shifts extend well beyond beauty.

They're increasingly becoming the blueprint for modern CPG brands.

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Quick Glance

In this article, we'll explore:

• Why Rhode's marketing strategy resonated with modern consumers
• How a focused product portfolio strengthened brand recognition
• Why content became a distribution channel instead of a campaign
• How direct-to-consumer helped build demand before retail
• What every CPG marketer can learn from Rhode's growth

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Rhode Launched Fewer Products and That Was the Point

One of Rhode's most overlooked decisions happened before consumers ever purchased a product.

The company intentionally launched with just three core skincare products, built around Hailey Bieber's philosophy of creating "one of everything really good." Rather than competing across dozens of categories, Rhode concentrated attention on a tightly curated assortment.

For marketers, this is a notable contrast to many emerging consumer brands.

The instinct is often to expand quickly. More SKUs create more opportunities to sell.

Rhode took the opposite approach.

With fewer products, each launch received more attention. Creators repeatedly featured the same products in routines, reviews, and tutorials. Consumers didn't need to learn an extensive product line, they only needed to remember a handful of hero products.

That simplicity became a competitive advantage.

Instead of spreading consumer attention across dozens of products, Rhode concentrated it.

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Rhode Built Demand Before It Built Distribution

Many consumer brands view retail as the first milestone.

Rhode treated it as the next milestone.

For its first several years, the brand sold exclusively through its own website, building a direct relationship with customers before entering physical retail.

By the time Rhode announced its partnership with Sephora, consumer demand had already been established.

According to e.l.f. Beauty, shoppers conducted more than two million unique searches for Rhode across Sephora's website and app before the products officially launched there.

That's an important distinction.

Consumers weren't discovering Rhode because it arrived at Sephora.

Sephora became a logical next step because consumers were already looking for the brand.

For CPG marketers, it's a reminder that strong distribution doesn't create demand on its own.

More often, it amplifies demand that already exists.

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Rhode Didn't Interrupt Content. It Became Part of It

One of Rhode's biggest marketing advantages wasn't its advertising budget.

It was content compatibility.

Beauty creators didn't need to invent reasons to feature Rhode products.

They naturally appeared inside skincare routines, "Get Ready With Me" videos, travel bags, nighttime rituals, and product comparisons.

The content wasn't about Rhode.

Rhode simply fit into the content consumers already wanted to watch.

That distinction matters.

Consumers increasingly discover products through creators, not commercials.

The strongest brands don't interrupt attention.

They integrate into existing behaviors.

This strategy translated into measurable visibility.

Rhode became the No. 1 skincare brand by Earned Media Value in 2024, with 367% year-over-year growth, demonstrating how consistently appearing in creator ecosystems can outperform isolated campaign moments.

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Consistency Became Rhode's Competitive Advantage

Many brands mistake consistency for repetition.

They're different.

Repetition is showing the same message over and over.

Consistency is making every interaction reinforce the same brand identity.

Whether consumers encountered Rhode through TikTok, Instagram, PR coverage, creator reviews, or the brand's own website, the experience felt cohesive.

The visual identity remained recognizable.

The product philosophy stayed focused.

The messaging rarely changed.

Over time, consumers stopped learning about Rhode.

They simply recognized it.

And recognition is one of the strongest predictors of future consideration.

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What CPG Brands Can Learn

Rhode's story isn't simply about celebrity influence.

It's about understanding how modern consumers discover products.

People rarely purchase after a single interaction.

They build familiarity across creators, social platforms, search, reviews, retail, and recommendations until the brand feels like a natural choice.

Rhode succeeded because it aligned with that behavior.

It focused consumer attention instead of fragmenting it.

It created products that naturally fit into creator content.

It built demand before expanding distribution.

And perhaps most importantly, it understood that visibility isn't a campaign objective.

It's a long-term growth strategy.

Those principles aren't exclusive to skincare.

They're increasingly defining how successful consumer brands grow across food, beverage, wellness, personal care, and beyond.

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Learn From the Brands Defining the Future of CPG

Rhode's growth is one example of a much larger shift happening across consumer brands. The marketers who recognize these shifts early are the ones building the next generation of category leaders.

That's exactly what we talk about at Clout Collective.

Join a community of founders, marketers, operators, and creators who share ideas, challenge conventional thinking, and explore what's actually driving growth in modern CPG. Through exclusive events, industry insights, and meaningful connections, Clout Collective helps you stay ahead of the trends shaping consumer brands.

Become a member and be part of the conversations shaping the future of CPG.

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