Ulta Beauty has announced the eight early-stage BIPOC beauty brands that will participate in its inaugural Muse Accelerator. Through the 10-week program, Ulta Beauty will educate and inspire successful applicants with mentorship and resources to prepare CEOs and their teams for retail readiness while creating a strong and nurturing community. The selected brands receive $50,000 in financial support, with the aim to prepare each brand for long-term success.

Monica Arnaudo, Chief Merchandising Officer at Ulta Beauty said, "I'm so proud to welcome our first MUSE Accelerator cohort to Ulta Beauty. These brand founders have worked hard to get to this point, and our program will help them further ignite their potential, fuel growth and reach new heights," says Monica Arnaudo, Chief Merchandising Officer, Ulta Beauty. "As the leading beauty retailer, we understand the importance of greater inclusivity within beauty and the responsibility we have to create equitable opportunities for BIPOC brands to thrive in our industry. I'm honored we will accompany them on this journey and look forward to seeing them flourish throughout the process."

2022 Cohort Participating Brands + Founders

• Pound Cake, Camille Bell and Jonathan Velazquez: A Black and Latinx-owned cosmetics brand that creates inclusive products for people of different skin and lip tones while authentically highlighting beauty lovers who are BIPOC, fat-identifying, trans, and nonbinary. 
• Squigs, Nikita Charuza: A "headcare" brand that creates skincare and haircare products for anyone who believes good ingredients and good moods go hand in hand. 
• Ourside, formerly known as Aspen Apothecary, the personal fragrance brand founded by sisters Katja and Keta Burke-Williams, is shifting the fragrance conversation to amplify a message of “you as you are” and evoke powerful emotions to bring us together. 
• Bonita Fierce Candles, Melissa Gallardo: A candle brand that represents, celebrates, and elevates the diversity of the multicultural Latina community. 
• Sade Baron, Rachel and Folosade Lambo: A mother-daughter duo creating highly effective and concentrated body care products for skin issues such as eczema, contact dermatitis, psoriasis, and chronic dry skin. 
• Yina, Ervina Wu and Angela Gray: A beauty and wellness company inspired by East Asian medicine and rituals, providing consumers multifaceted products that go beyond skincare and address stress and imbalance. 
• The Refig, Tanya Perkins: Making bottle-free haircare for curls and beauty solutions that are easy to use and eco-friendly.
• Dehiya Beauty, Mia Reddy: A champion of diverse and inclusive beauty with a passion for creating highly effective, plant-based skincare using ethically sourced, highly active, native, and wild botanical ingredients from throughout the diaspora.