Here’s This $6.6 Billion Company’s ‘Secret Sauce’ to Growth

This beauty giant’s “secret sauce” for growth is hiding in the comments of a social media post.

E.l.f. Beauty CFO Mandy Fields is steering the cosmetics and skincare company through a recent period of rapid expansion. E.l.f. built its name on affordable, cruelty-free makeup. Today, it is a global cosmetics and skincare player with a market cap of $6.6 billion. It has made a name for itself with affordable items: 75% of its products cost $10 or less. 

Fields, who became CFO in 2019, said in a recent interview with CNBC that one part of the company’s strategy is to turn social media chatter into products. The beauty company pays attention to what customers are asking for in comments and posts on social platforms.

“We say there’s zero distance between us and our community,” Fields said. “That’s what it’s really about: staying close to our community, reading the comments that they have on our social media posts, listening to them when we go on TikTok Lives.”

For example, viewer requests during a TikTok Live inspired E.l.f.’s $11 bronzing drops, while an online pickle social media trend prompted the brand to create a $9 pickle lip balm, which sold out in eight minutes earlier this year. 

“We’re always listening, and we’re trying to be as fast as possible in responding to those requests, and I think that’s been a bit of the secret sauce of E.l.f.,” Fields said. 

E.l.f. also works with influencers 

Fields has long been fascinated by consumer behavior and business results. What persuades someone to buy? Why do certain products outperform others? Which marketing efforts make a difference? 

“I love thinking about what makes a person purchase an item,” she said. “It’s just fantastic, and in the CFO seat, you see everything across the company.”

E.l.f.’s strategy includes more than listening to customers on social media. The brand also taps into social media influencers to create brand awareness and centers the majority of its spending on creators with smaller or midsize followings. 

“They have that more authentic connection to community,” Fields said. 

How E.l.f. approaches growth

E.l.f.’s expansion stems from major acquisitions paired with sustained sales growth. For example, the company bought skincare brand Naturium for $355 million in 2023. Last year, it struck its largest deal yet, buying Hailey Bieber’s Rhode for $1 billion. 

The Rhode agreement offered E.l.f. a way to reach shoppers willing to spend more. Rhode’s products average in the high $20s, compared with about $6.50 for E.l.f.’s core cosmetics.

These deals have helped E.l.f. broaden its business beyond its affordable makeup roots. E.l.f. generated approximately $1.64 billion in net sales in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, a 25% increase from the previous year. 

Its momentum continued into the next fiscal year: In August, the company reported a 36% sales increase for the quarter ended June 30, marking its 30th consecutive quarter of year-over-year net sales growth. The streak spans more than seven years.

This beauty giant’s “secret sauce” for growth is hiding in the comments of a social media post.

E.l.f. Beauty CFO Mandy Fields is steering the cosmetics and skincare company through a recent period of rapid expansion. E.l.f. built its name on affordable, cruelty-free makeup. Today, it is a global cosmetics and skincare player with a market cap of $6.6 billion. It has made a name for itself with affordable items: 75% of its products cost $10 or less. 

Fields, who became CFO in 2019, said in a recent interview with CNBC that one part of the company’s strategy is to turn social media chatter into products. The beauty company pays attention to what customers are asking for in comments and posts on social platforms.