Episode 16: Ariana Mouyiaris, Creative Director and Co-Founder of MAKE | The first for-benefit brand in the beauty industry

What this episode covers

Ariana Mouyiaris, Creative Director and Co-Founder of MAKE, steps on to the New York Launch Pod to discuss her new beauty brand. MAKE is the first for-benefit brand in the beauty industry where ten (10%) percent of sales (not profits) are donated to the We See Beauty Foundation. Before MAKE launched in February 2013, Ariana did not think the world needed another beauty brand, yet saw an opportunity in the marketplace to deliver high quality products with a different kind of messaging. The brand encourages creative self-expression and focuses on “approachable” beauty. “I don’t feel like I have the keys to telling you how to look beautiful. I don’t think that power is in anybody outside of whoever is choosing to buy and wear the product itself,” says Ariana. With that vision in mind, MAKE focuses on contemporary beauty and has collaborated with influential creative designers including Faye Toogood and Maryam Nassir Zadeh. Ariana partnered with her father, who has over 40 years in cosmetic contract manufacturing, to create the company. With a wealth of experience, MAKE is able to bring on a great core team to create professionally formulated products with a very fast turn around. Manufactured in Long Island City, MAKE now has over 250 SKUs and has been picked up by premier retailers including Barneys. Social impact is a very important to the DNA at MAKE. The 10% of all sale proceeds going to the We See Beauty Foundation has been able to incubate and accelerate women-led, worker-owned cooperatives. These donations and a collaboration with Mercado Global have empowered women-owned cooperatives to have incredible and meaningful growth. As Ariana says, “A lot of brands do charitable work, which is very commendable. And given the scale it’s significant for sure. But we want to make a stronger commitment to saying that business could be done differently and to bet our bottom line on it.” Transcript of the episode available here: http://nylaun.ch/makebeautyt More on Make: http://makebeauty.com/

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