Rhode, the beauty brand Hailey Bieber founded in 2022, was acquired by e.l.f. Beauty in a deal the company announced on May 28, 2025, valued at $1 billion. The agreement, disclosed in e.l.f. Beauty's own press release, covered $800 million at closing plus a potential $200 million earnout, and kept Bieber on as founder and chief creative officer.
How did rhode get started?
Rhode launched in June 2022 as a skin-first beauty line built around a small number of products, led by the peptide lip treatment that became its signature. Bieber guided the brand from the beginning, and Vogue Business reported in March 2023 that the company was already plotting expansion into Canada and the United Kingdom less than a year after launch, with then-CEO Melanie Bender outlining the growth strategy in her own interview.
That early restraint became part of the playbook. Instead of flooding the market, rhode released tightly edited drops, sold direct to consumers online, and let demand build before each new product appeared. The approach mirrored what the most durable celebrity businesses had learned: a famous name opens the door, but a repeat-purchase product keeps customers inside.
The numbers behind the brand were disclosed by e.l.f. Beauty at the time of the acquisition. Rhode generated $212 million in net sales in the twelve months ended March 31, 2025, according to the company's announcement, a figure that made the brand one of the fastest-growing properties in its category.
What did the e.l.f. Beauty deal actually include?
The acquisition, announced by e.l.f. Beauty on May 28, 2025, was structured in two parts: $800 million in cash and stock at closing, and up to $200 million in additional consideration tied to rhode's growth over three years. The press release described rhode as "a fast-growing, multi-category lifestyle beauty brand founded by Hailey Bieber known for its collection of high-performance, skin-focused products."
For celebrity-business watchers, the structure mattered as much as the total. An earnout tied to future growth signals that the buyer expects the founder's continued involvement to drive value, which is why Bieber's creative role was confirmed as part of the same announcement rather than left to later negotiation.
| Milestone | Detail | Confirmed by |
|---|---|---|
| June 2022 | Rhode launches direct-to-consumer with a skin-first line | Vogue Business interview with CEO Melanie Bender |
| December 2023 | Lauren Ratner named president and chief brand officer | WWD |
| May 2025 | e.l.f. Beauty announces $1 billion acquisition | e.l.f. Beauty press release |
| April 2026 | Rhode x The Biebers three-product collection launches | Beauty News Daily |
Who runs the business day to day?
Celebrity brands succeed when a professional operator sits beside the famous founder, and rhode followed that model early. WWD reported in December 2023 that Lauren Ratner, who joined the company before launch after marketing roles at Reformation, Michael Kors and James Perse, was promoted to president and chief brand officer, a post that put her across all business functions while Bieber led product and creative direction.
The division of labor became visible in the product calendar. Beauty News Daily reported in April 2026 that rhode's collaboration with Justin Bieber, a three-product collection called Rhode x The Biebers, introduced Spotwear, the brand's first pimple patches, with the outlet noting that the brand confirmed the patches would remain part of its core offering beyond the limited-edition drop.
What does rhode's playbook teach about celebrity launches?
The rhode story is now the case study other founders cite. Start with one hero product that solves a specific problem, sell it directly so the customer relationship belongs to the brand, hire operators with industry résumés before scaling, and only then widen into retail, categories and collaborations.
The April 2026 Bieber collaboration showed the next stage: using the founder's personal life as a product engine without letting it replace the brand's identity. The collection was a husband-and-wife project on the surface, but its lead product was engineered to join the permanent line, converting a personal moment into inventory that outlives the announcement cycle.
That is the quiet lesson of the billion-dollar deal. The celebrity gets the headlines, yet the valuation rests on repeatable commerce: net sales disclosed by the acquirer, retention of the founder in a creative role, and a product pipeline that keeps selling after the press cycle moves on.
What does the deal mean for the brand's customers?
For shoppers, the change has been gradual rather than dramatic. The products that built rhode's following remain the center of the lineup, while the acquirer's infrastructure supports wider distribution, a pattern e.l.f. Beauty has run before with the brands in its portfolio. The April 2026 collaboration showed the product engine still firing on schedule: new categories, seasonal limited editions and a permanent addition to the core line.
The risk in any acquisition is dilution of the identity that made the brand valuable. The earnout structure addresses it directly, because the additional consideration depends on rhode's growth over three years, aligning the founder's continued creative involvement with the buyer's return.
Could another star repeat it?
The conditions were specific. Bieber brought an existing audience, a clearly defined aesthetic, and a willingness to launch narrow rather than wide. e.l.f. Beauty brought the balance sheet and the retail infrastructure. Most celebrity ventures fail at the first step because the product is an afterthought; rhode's numbers, as disclosed in the acquisition announcement, suggest the product came first and the fame accelerated it.
