Launched: 2009
Founder:
Key Executives:
2024 Full Year Expected Revenue Range: $50 to $75 million
Offline points of distribution projected globally for 2024: 2,000
Primary Beauty Category: Color Cosmetics / Makeup
Other Beauty Categories: Facial Skincare
Key Markets:
Retail Partnerships:
Primary Distribution Channel: DTC
Other Distribution Channels:
Funding Rounds: Private Equity
Total Funds Raised: Confidential
Notable Investors / Funding Partners: Highlander Partners
Notable Advisors / Board Members: David Olsen
A pioneer of the clean beauty movement, Rose-Marie Swift is the founder and the spirit of RMS Beauty. A master makeup artist for over 40 years, her lightbulb moment was realizing that cosmetics could be made with better, safer ingredients while simultaneously making women more beautiful, changing their skin for the better. Bold, authentic, and unwavering in her quest for innovative clean ingredients that perform, she launched RMS in 2009 to clean up the industry and set a higher standard for beauty with products that give everyone their own signature glow.
Insight provided by Elaine Sack, CSO
What are your key business initiatives for 2024?
In 2023, we celebrated our community more than ever before, and we’re going to continue that momentum by giving them the products and personalization that they’ve been asking for. RMS is known as a makeup brand, but we’ve always infused our products with skin-loving and nourishing ingredients. In 2024, we’re getting louder about our skincare starting with our founder Rose-Marie’s three favorite skincare products that she has been using for years. The #1 question we get asked whenever we post anything with Rose-Marie (who is almost 70) is “Her skin looks amazing, what does she use on her skin?” So, we're going to launch a line that includes Kakadu plum oil, which is one of her skincare and beauty secrets.
What are you most proud of having accomplished?
RMS Beauty turns 15 this year, and in the past two years our community has grown like wildfire. We’re doing what we’ve always been doing: innovating, using the best ingredients that don’t harm or irritate skin, and listening to our community, so it’s incredible to see RMS fans that span from Gen Alpha to beyond Gen X. We’re really proud of the sustainable strides we are making as well. It’s a process, but we’re not afraid to take our community along for the journey as we and our manufacturers improve our sustainability efforts even more.
What has been the biggest surprise?
That 15 years after she launched RMS to create safer and cleaner products for herself and the models and actresses she worked with, Rose-Marie is more beloved and respected than ever within our community and the industry as a whole. She has always been a “rebel with a cause” and an individual who never holds back on being herself. Her confidence inspires others, and we love that it continues to do so.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
The artistry that goes into each formula is led by Rose-Marie, a makeup artist with over 40 years of experience and a passion for health, performance, and skin-loving ingredients. Not only can the ingredients completely transform your look and your skin (just read the thousands of reviews on our site to see for yourself), they’re multitasking so the busy person can get a glowing and refreshed look in less than a minute. RMS is one of those brands where word of mouth has helped us for over 15 years: if you know, you know.
Please share your insight on the future of the beauty industry.
Brand loyalty builds better brands. People are no longer loyal to one brand or use a whole collection. Customers today like to experiment and diversify the products they use. Brands will win, if they can embrace this trend while connecting and offering personalized advice and routines that reflect their values. Like attracts like, and your audience will find you if you stay authentic and welcoming.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Be ownable. Be you. Always lean into what makes you different from the competition; then be consistent with it. Repetition is recognition.
What is the best mistake you've ever made?
We listen to our community every step of the way, and that pillar of our brand is one positive way to identify mistakes and hear what our customer loves/doesn’t love. Our Liplights Cream Gloss is a bestseller, but our community let us know that not everyone loves that there was no applicator. To solve this issue, we’re working on a replacement cap that also solves our commitment to be more sustainable. Moments like this push us to do better in every way.
Paying it forward, what advice would you give to someone contemplating launching a beauty brand?
Start a brand for the right reasons: passion and answering a need for yourself and your community. Make sure you always make decisions based on your values—the customer will thank you for it.
If you could change one thing in the beauty industry what would it be?
There are too many brands that exist for the wrong reasons: to get in the skincare game, to hop on trends, to be relevant, and to gain market share. If there is no passion or brand reason to believe, the customer can sniff it out in a heartbeat or at first try.
