Hailey Bieber is Paving Rhode to Become Part of the Cultural Zeitgeist

LONDON — Since Hailey Bieber launched her beauty brand, Rhode, in the U.K. in May last year, the line has been embraced in a way that has the founder investing more time and effort into London.

This summer, Rhode’s London photo booth attracted hourlong queues — now, the brand is going bigger with a four-day pop-up on Motcomb Street that stocks all of the brand’s stock keeping units: viral lip phone cases, Peptide Glazing Fluid, Peptide Lip Treatment and more.

The all-gray pop-up, which matches the brand’s packaging, blends into the cloudy British skies, but promises heaps of color via lip cases in raspberry jelly or pink ribbon, as well as first access for U.K. shoppers to try Barrier Butter, officially launching Oct. 28.

“Our community in London is super, super strong. We wanted to really bring an experience there and it just felt like the next natural progression. London embraced Rhode in a big way [when we launched in the U.K.] and I wanted to circle back to that,” Bieber said in her first interview since giving birth in August.

The brand told WWD exclusively that it’s on track to exceed $100 million in revenue this year as a result of its online direct-to-consumer business, which currently operates in eight countries.

Bieber is scaling the brand through marketing and so far, the plan has paid off.

A limited-edition peptide treatment inspired by Krispy Kreme’s famous strawberry glazed donut; its lip cases equipped with a Peptide Lip Treatment, and tapping supermodel Claudia Schiffer as the face of Barrier Butter have landed Rhode at the top of the social media charts.

“I really wanted to use someone who transcended several different generations and demographics. When I think of Claudia, the iconicness is just immediate, plus her reach and impact on so many different age groups. She’s somebody that I’m a big, big fan of. I’ve been inspired by her as a model and her imagery has been on several of our Rhode mood boards since we started,” Bieber said.

According to influencer marketing platform CreatorIQ, Rhode’s earned media value, or EMV, ranked the brand as the top skin care brand in the U.S. in the year through June. The brand’s EMV has grown by 304 percent year-over-year.

On TikTok, Rhode’s following has increased 136.1 percent year-over-year for the period ended June 2024, and the brand has more than 1 million followers there. On Instagram, the brand has 2.2 million followers, and the account grew 74.1 percent in the same time period, according to Rhode.

But the offline world remains key for the brand to connect to customers. This year, Rhode focused on translating its digital output IRL, resulting in immersive experiences such as a New York City pop-up and a Rhode-branded photo booth that traveled from Los Angeles to Toronto, London and Ibiza.

“When you are an online brand that’s really focused on building the [direct-to-consumer] arm, you see people through the comments and numbers on a screen, but you don’t get to feel the impact of the community that you’re building,” said Lauren Ratner, the brand’s president, chief brand officer and Bieber’s right-hand woman.

As Rhode enters the next expansion phase, Bieber is focused on community — growing Rhode’s current one, and inviting new people into the brand, like Schiffer.

“As Hailey gets older and approaches her 30s — as she becomes a mom, her beauty and skin care essentials continue to evolve, and it’s really important for the brand to continue to follow those life stages,” Ratner said.

“An important factor for Hailey from the beginning was that she always wanted Rhode to be bigger than just herself. The ultimate dream for her is for someone to pick up the product and love it without knowing that it’s related to her,” she added.

Bieber and Ratner have implemented a 360-degree plan with buzzy campaigns and influencer packages, as well as staying consistent when it comes to social media, product packaging and offerings.

“We are very focused on creative storytelling across our channels, creating bite-sized content that is easy to digest and highly visual to excite our community. We shy away from being too transactional and hope that when our community looks at our social media channels, it feels like they are on their friend’s Instagram, or Hailey’s,” Ratner said.

Bieber’s expert touch has worked with Rhode, and the brand has been diving deeper into refreshing hero products, including the Peptide Lip Treatment, with new colors and flavors. It’s a plus that the brand’s price offering is accessible — in the U.K. Rhode ranges from 18 British pounds to 38.

“Limited-edition items are something that our community really rallies around and I think it will continue to be a through line for the brand,” Ratner said.

Bieber is already thinking about what she wants to do next year, and said she wants to expand the skin care range by toying more with the color category and integrating them into one. Rhode launched Pocket Blush in June.

“I would love to continue playing in the world of tech merch — like the lip phone cases,” she said.

The road to Rhode has been one of many learnings for the 27-year-old.

One of the biggest lessons she’s learned since launching the brand in 2022 is that “mistakes are going to happen” and that there “will be bumps in the road, which are out of your control, but you need to pivot, run and work with them as they come,” she said.

Since giving birth, Bieber has given herself a soft break. “I’m only doing what feels comfortable for me physically, mentally and emotionally,” she said, but her eyes are still on Rhode, which she calls her “toddler.”