Tapping into the current trend toward brow gels and celebrity cosmetics, IP Brands of Fair Lawn, NJ is a company to watch when it comes to the next big beauty breakthrough. Its team has combined for more than 100 years of experience in the personal care industry, and has generated more than $1 billion in cosmetic retail sales through its exclusive ingredients, patented complexes and product innovations. 
 
In 2011, Doug Cooper, CEO of IP Brands, teamed up with Beilis Development, a company founded by cosmetic formulator Gene Beilis and industry veteran Maddy Rubenstein, formerly of Revlon. Cooper, a marketing visionary who has created brands with supermodels and celebrities, and specializes in electronic retailing channels of distribution, saw the potential in taking Beilis Development from private label manufacturer to brand incubator–working together to create brands that it can take to market through strategic partners.
 
“For the brands we incubate, we look at a multi-channel distribution channel with a focus on electronic retailing—internet, home shopping and direct response advertising,” Cooper told Happi. “We like to use electronic retailing to build exposure for our brands, generate a database of customers, as well as revenue.  In the future, as our brands mature, we would like to increase our reach into specialty retail distribution.”
 
This unique company has already made its mark through its first incubated brand, Wunder2, a collection of beauty solutions that work in “Under 2 Minutes,” and acquired by KF Beauty in 2015. The brand’s flagship innovation, Wunderbrow, a one-step brow gel with multiple proprietary technologies, should top one million units sold in 2016, said Cooper. The SKU recently launched in CVS stores nationwide, as reported in Happi.
 
Furthermore, Wunder2 will soon be launching its new “blockbuster” product, Wunderkiss, a two-phase controlled lip plumping innovation developed and formulated by IP Brands.
 
In addition, IP Brands successfully launched Westmore Beauty in 2015. Considered the “founding family” of makeup artists in Hollywood, the Westmores are known for winning more than 30 Academy Awards, multiple Emmy Awards and even have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
 
Westmore Beauty is geared around products that offer “Hollywood Glamour meets Hollywood Special Effects” using cutting edge cosmetic technologies. The line has successfully launched four state-of-the-art makeup innovations on QVC, amongst other shopping hubs.
 
The firm’s newest ventures include Hyperdose, a skin care brand developed around a new breed of dosing technology and Wonderskin, another skin care brand featuring a patented formula, which uniquely combines the pure forms of vitamin A, vitamin C, AHA and hyaluronic acid. Both brands are set to launch in 2017.
 
Within the next year, IP Brands will partner with key Influencers, social media stars and artists from around the world to create buzz worthy brands and beauty innovations for their loyal and engaging fans, said Cooper.
 
“If someone is looking to get into the beauty business, I would stress the importance that you need to offer something that is meaningfully different than the competition,” he said. “The beauty space is so competitive and there isn’t a lot of white space – so, in order to have the chance of success, you need products that have a great story with multiple points of difference that the consumer can easily understand.”