What Investors Now Check Before Backing a Beauty Brand
A good idea gets a beauty brand noticed, says consultant Florence Roghe, but execution is what makes it scale. The founders who stall try to launch, extend the range, enter new markets and build every channel at once, while margins, supply chain and stock management wait, and investors now want to see the whole business work.
Roghe, Founder and Director of Collateral Projects, worked at Beauty Pie and Soap & Glory and has since consulted for brands including MIRROR WATER, Gallinée and 111SKIN. Most recently she worked on the launch of WAER, a refillable fragrance wardrobe founded by Greg Le Tocq and Sophie Jenkins. She spoke in two sessions at Beautyworld Dubai on 7 and 8 October, and answered five questions from The Beauty Insider in writing before the show. Asked for the most common mistake founders make between launch and growth, she did not hedge.
Speed and trying to do too much too quickly. Founders often want to launch, expand the range, enter new markets and build every channel at once. Good execution takes time.
What gets neglected
Her diagnosis is about where the attention goes. Founders, she says, often focus on the visible side of a brand, the social and the PR, which matter, but do not give the same attention to the fundamentals: commercials and margins, supply chain, operations and stock management. Consistency, in her view, is as important as speed.
The same test now decides funding. A great idea is no longer enough, she says: investors look at the whole opportunity, from the strength of the proposition and the commercials to the route to market and how the brand can scale. An amazing product, a strong social presence or a good founder story will not carry a pitch on its own. Investors want to see the whole business working together.
The small first step
Her fragrance work shows what the slower route looks like on a shelf. Gen Z and Alpha, she says, discover through social, creators and communities and can move very quickly from discovery to commitment, so the first purchase has to be easy. A 10ml, in her example, gives consumers an accessible entry point: less of a commitment, more room to experiment, and a way to know a scent before investing in a full size. Younger buyers, she adds, want a wardrobe they can curate, rotate and layer rather than one signature scent.
WAER is built on that idea. It sells 14 eaux de parfum in 10ml at £20 each, with a reusable case that stays when the 10ml is refilled.
Why it matters
For brand owners, the warning is about sequencing. A launch plan that funds content, range extensions and new markets before margins and stock control is the mistake Roghe names as the most common, and investors now look past any single strength to the whole business.
For buyers and distributors, a 10ml at a low price point lowers the risk of a first listing as well as a first purchase, and a refill model gives the shopper a reason to come back to the same shelf.
What to watch
Whether small-format, refill-led fragrance brands turn trial into repeat purchase at scale. Roghe's view is her reading of the market from the consultant's chair; we did not ask about WAER's sales, and the model is not presented here as a proven result.
About
Florence Roghe
Florence Roghe is Founder and Director of Collateral Projects, a consultancy for beauty brands. She has more than 20 years' experience across beauty product development, brand strategy and growth. At Beautyworld Dubai 2026 she spoke on "Gen Z & Alpha Decoded: The Fragrance Consumer of Today & Tomorrow" on 7 October and "The Brand Story: From Idea to Scale: Growing Brands That Attract Capital" on 8 October.