In an age when beauty consumers are more discerning, more vocal, and more values-driven than ever, authenticity has become a non-negotiable. But how can brands stay true to their founding missions while scaling across global markets, platforms, and partnerships? At BeautyMatter’s 2025 FUTURE50 Summit, the “Authenticity at Scale: Turning Influence into Brand Communities” panel explored exactly that—offering a rare, unfiltered look into what it takes to build and grow with integrity.
Moderated by BeautyMatter co-founder and President John Cafarelli, the panel featured Armaan Mehta, co-founder of Odore; Deepica Mutyala, founder of Live Tinted; and Mona Kattan, CEO and founder of Kayali. Together, they unpacked the tensions and truths behind one of the most critical conversations in beauty today.
“Authenticity isn’t a tactic—it’s a value system,” Cafarelli opened. “It’s also one of the hardest things to hold onto as you grow. So, we wanted to bring together leaders who’ve actually done that work, at scale.”
Built on Purpose, Not Just Product
For Mona Kattan, authenticity starts long before a brand becomes successful. “You can’t add authenticity later; it has to be in your DNA from the beginning,” she said. “From your first hire to your first product, everything should reflect your values.” Kattan, who built Kayali as a love letter to fragrance that is rooted in Middle Eastern scent traditions, emphasized that the most powerful branding starts from a place of genuine passion. “I’m obsessed with fragrance,” she said. “I’m also obsessed with how scent connects us to memory, to culture, to identity. That’s what drives me—not algorithms.”
That internal clarity is critical, agreed Deepica Mutyala, whose brand Live Tinted was born out of frustration with colorism and exclusion in the industry. “We weren’t seeing ourselves represented,” she said. “So I made a video to fix a problem I had. That turned into a movement, and eventually a brand.” For Mutyala, the trust built with her community is sacred. “People are buying more than products—they’re buying into our purpose,” she said. “So every decision we make, I ask: does this honor that relationship?”
Scaling with intention requires saying no, often. “We’ve walked away from opportunities that didn’t align with our values,” Mutyala said. “There were times when we could have grown faster, but it didn’t feel right. That’s hard when everyone’s measuring success by revenue. But we’re playing the long game.”
Real Relationships over Reach
Armaan Mehta, co-founder of Odore, brought the perspective of a tech-driven founder supporting beauty brands from behind the scenes. “Today’s consumer can sense when something is off, they’ll call it out in seconds,” he said. “Authenticity is the currency of trust. To earn that, everything needs to be aligned: your messaging, your product, your partnerships.”
Mehta works with brands on personalization and digital engagement, which often raises questions about how to automate without losing the human touch. “Tech should never replace authenticity—it should enable it,” he said. “If you know your customer deeply, you can scale that relationship. But if you fake it, you’ll break it.”
That sentiment resonated deeply with the panel. “People can smell inauthenticity,” Kattan said. “It’s like a bad perfume—it lingers.”
Still, the pressure to perform at scale can pull brands away from their core. “When you bring in investors or partners who don’t share your values, it gets harder to stay grounded,” said Mutyala. “You have to be really intentional about who’s at the table.”
Kattan echoed that point. “When you grow fast, it’s tempting to compromise. But I’ve learned that compromising on your values always costs more in the end,” she said. “The brands that last are the ones that stay close to their ‘why.’”
Culture Is the Core of Brand Truth
Cafarelli steered the conversation toward culture and how internal dynamics shape external perceptions. “It starts with your team,” Kattan said. “If your people don’t feel empowered, how can they bring that energy to your brand? At Kayali, we talk a lot about love—loving what you do, who you work with, and the people you serve.”
Mutyala shared that at Live Tinted, internal transparency is key. “We tell our team the real numbers. We talk about the hard stuff. We don’t just celebrate wins—we reflect on the misses,” she said. “Because that’s what authenticity looks like behind the scenes.”
Sometimes, being authentic means being vulnerable. “We’ve made mistakes,” Mehta said. “But we own them. We learn from them. Consumers respect that more than perfection.”
In an age of relentless content and constant performance, it’s easy to confuse storytelling with truth-telling. But the panelists agreed: not every value needs to be part of a campaign. “Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is listen,” Kattan said. “Not everything has to be loud to be real.”
So how do brands keep that authenticity alive as they scale? “Discipline,” Mehta answered. “You need systems in place that protect your values—how you launch products, how you measure success, how you handle feedback. It’s about operationalizing your integrity.”
“Community,” Mutyala added. “Our community holds us accountable, and we invite that. We show them the behind-the-scenes. We ask what they want. We admit when we don’t have the answer.”
“Heart!” said Kattan. “You have to care. This isn’t just about beauty—it’s about emotional connection. And if you lose that, you lose everything.”
For those hoping to scale authenticity, ask yourself—if you took away the branding, the packaging, the followers—what’s left? That’s your authenticity, and that’s what you scale.
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