Launching Summer 2026! Breakout Beauty UK is back.
After a standout first year in 2025, we are returning to find and scale the UK’s next breakout beauty brands.
Our first cohort, backed by Boots and TikTok Shop, delivered epic results. Two brands secured over £350k in support. ByErim is launching into 60 Boots stores. Make Waves is rolling out to more than 300.
Breakout Beauty UK is a fully funded, ten-week accelerator for market-ready beauty founders with the ambition to build multi-million pound brands, win major retail and become the names everyone's talking about.
Over ten fast-paced weeks, we'll help you nail your retail strategy, grow your community and sales and get media and investor attention. You'll access top-tier business development, investment opportunities, retail partnerships, and award-winning growth support that typically takes years to build. At the end, you'll pitch to a panel of experts, investors and buyers.
And the best news? It’s fully funded, so you pay nothing.
Applications for Summer 2026 opening soon.
We’re looking for founders who are ready to scale.
This programme is for founder-led UK beauty brands across skincare, makeup, haircare, bodycare, fragrance and accessories, with the ambition to break into national retail within the next 12 months.
You should already be selling, whether that is direct-to-consumer, via TikTok Shop, Amazon, or through boutique retail, and ready to take the next step.
Want to get involved?
Register your interest to be first in line when applications open.
If now feels early, join the founder community and we’ll share updates, opportunities and practical resources along the way.
You can also subscribe to the Growth Studio newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn to stay close to what’s coming next.
The grand prize (valued at £350k) includes a launch into 50 Boots stores with a Gold marketing package and 2 mentoring sessions with senior leaders, while the runner-up prize (valued at £200k) includes a Boots.com launch with a Silver marketing package and 2 mentoring sessions. Both packages cover a range of marketing support channels including organic social, PR, .com listings, CRM, in-store activity, performance media, and paid campaign media.*Ts & Cs apply
The prize package includes an exclusive seller prize for the winner featuring guaranteed AM/BD support, creator matchmaking, a LinkedIn feature, scale and live incentives (8% GMV back in vouchers), reduced platform fees (3% for the first 60 days vs. the standard 9%), 90 days of free Fulfilled by TikTok storage and fulfilment for up to 15,000 orders, and free shipping on FBT orders over £22. *Ts & Cs apply.
Fast-track your growth with curated introductions to leading investors in the beauty and wellness space, in our wider network of venture partners.
Ambassadors who’ve built their own cult followings know exactly what speaks to consumers - and how to scale. They’ll champion your brand with insider expertise, showcasing product efficacy and growth-focused mentorship to your community.
Leverage the insider clout of retail-buyer ambassadors who understand shelf-ready appeal. They’ll provide invaluable feedback on merchandising and ensure your messaging resonates with both store buyers and end customers.
Our investor ambassadors bring strategic vision and market credibility. They’ll advocate for your brand story in high-impact settings, unlock valuable introductions, and reinforce your proposition with a seal of financial confidence.
Partner with creators who know the grind of building a business organically. They’ll authentically integrate your products into their content, share real-world results, and inspire their followers to become your next loyal customers.
Master what it takes to get stocked in major retailers from people in the know.
Put in place a best-in-class TikTok Shop scale and growth strategy.
You'll learn how to raise money from our investor ambassadors
Get seen, heard and remembered, and build your profile in the consumer and industry press.
Well known beauty founders, investors and buyers will share their unique expertise - what works (and what things you shouldn't do) when growing your business.
From Growth Studio - award-winning startup experts who'll help you become an expert, confident presenter.
The beauty industry is thriving; in fact, it's growing four times faster than the wider economy. That's why I am so excited to be involved in finding the freshest brands that are driving this growth and the future of the industry. Over the last nearly ten years, I have built Trinny London and understand the determination it takes to build a successful brand and I can't wait to share my insights with the Breakout Beauty founders.
We know what it takes to fast-track founder success. Our programmes have supported over 2,500 founders, driven millions in new investment, and opened doors to the biggest names in retail. With Breakout Beauty UK, we’re bringing that same expertise to the beauty sector, creating the most powerful accelerator of its kind in the UK.
UK beauty founders are serving creativity like no one else – the ideas, the passion, the edge? Unreal. But let’s be real, talent needs backing to blow up properly. That’s why I’m thrilled to be an Ambassador for Breakout Beauty UK. We’re hunting for the next big name – the ones with vision, fire, and the guts to go all the way. If that’s you, let’s make it happen.
At Boots, we’re committed to bringing the very best of beauty to our customers. Breakout Beauty UK gives us a unique opportunity to nurture emerging brands and empower the next generation of British beauty founders, whilst also bringing fresh innovation and exciting new products to the UK high street. As the nation’s favourite beauty retailer, we’re proud to play a role in shaping the future of beauty, making it more inclusive, inspiring, and accessible to all.
TikTok Shop is the UK’s launchpad for the next generation of beauty businesses. We are proud to see so many innovative, passionate founders with incredible products being discovered in real-time by millions of shoppers. We look forward to working with Breakout Beauty to find the next breakthrough beauty brand in the UK, and helping them to reach new heights on TikTok Shop.
With a track record of supporting businesses in the cosmetics, beauty and fragrance spaces, Bird & Bird is delighted to be the legal partner for Growth Studios and Breakout Beauty UK. The cosmetics, beauty and fragrance sectors are highly competitive and require flexibility and dynamism in light of changing consumer preferences, legal and regulatory developments, sustainability concerns, and technological innovations - and that’s where Bird & Bird comes in. We are expertly placed to provide a full spectrum of legal advice for growing brands - providing strategically specialist solutions through all stages of the product and brand lifecycle.
At IFGlobal, we don’t just move boxes. We help ambitious brands build the operations they need to scale with confidence. There’s more to growth than ambition, and it’s our job to make sure early-stage brands get the foundations right.
Partnering with Growth Studio and being the exclusive fulfilment partner for Breakout Beauty UK allows us to support founders at the point where growth can either accelerate or overwhelm. We’re here to make sure it’s the former.
Scaling a brand is more than marketing and making sales. The most successful brands see operations and fulfilment as growth infrastructure. That early thinking sets winning brands apart, and that’s exactly what we’re bringing to every founder in the accelerator programme.
I built Tropic to challenge the beauty industry - to prove you could create the most efficacious, luxurious products using freshly made, natural ingredients. Breakout Beauty UK backs founders driven by something bigger than profit, and together I believe we can make this industry a genuine force for good.
Being part of the Breakout Beauty UK board in 2026 feels full circle for me, because this programme offers exactly the kind of support and connection I wish I’d had in the early stages of my business. I’m passionate about the value of connection, there’s immense power in learning from one another at every stage of your business journey. I’m excited to help foster that for this cohort, and I know I will learn as much from them as they hopefully will from me.
Science gave me the knowledge to build Rhute - but it was the hard lessons of founding a brand from scratch that taught me what really drives success. There is no shortage of incredible ideas in this industry; what founders need is the right room to grow. Breakout Beauty UK is that room. I'm here because I believe in backing people who are building with both their head and their heart - the ones who won't stop until they've changed something.
Being part of Breakout Beauty UK matters to me because I know first hand how much brilliance exists at the early stages of brand building; and how often it just needs the right visibility, guidance, and belief to truly scale.
I’m deeply passionate about emerging brands because they’re where culture is shaped first. They’re closer to the consumer, more agile in their thinking, and often the ones brave enough to challenge what beauty looks like, who it serves, and how it shows up. That’s where the next era of this industry is being defined.
I’m excited to spot ‘what’s next’ the founder, the formulation, the story. I’ve built my career on identifying those moments early and helping translate them into something commercially powerful.
Mentorship is a huge part of that for me. I know what it takes to build from the ground up, and I also know how transformative it is to have access: to insight, to networks, to honest feedback. Being part of this is an opportunity to pour that back into the ecosystem, to help founders not just launch, but build brands that last.
I’m proud to support Breakout Beauty UK and sit on the Beauty Board because the next generation of beauty brands deserves the right platform, mentorship and backing to truly scale. Programmes like this unlock that potential and help founders turn innovation into lasting impact.
Being part of Breakout Beauty UK last year was so inspirational and energising. So much talent and innovation in the room. I was so proud that one of the brands Make Waves who I mentored and encouraged to enter went on to win! This year stands to be even bigger and I believe now is the time to continue to share all my expertise and knowledge that comes with co-founding a global omni-channel business.
It’s never been easier to start a beauty brand – but never harder to scale one.
We’ve built Breakout Beauty UK to change that.
Growth Studio has assembled a coalition of mentors, investors, media and buyers to support founders with serious ambition. We want to meet the next generation of breakout, headline and global beauty brands.
The Breakout Beauty UK programme has challenged me to the extreme, but I have learnt an amazing amount and made great contacts, that will be so useful, as I move my business forward. And the support from the Growth Studio team has been amazing – they never seemed to tire of my endless questions. It’s been tough and stressful, but I’m glad that I did it and I’m super grateful for the support the team has given me and Spots & Stripes. I’m going into ’26 really fired up now – with ideas and knowledge. Thank you!
The Breakout Beauty UK programme returned my confidence to myself and my business. I feel like I can conquer the world!
I didn’t know what to expect from the Breakout Beauty UK programme when we signed up, but honestly I was blown away. I found a community of incredible people, and the support has been absolutely incredible from day one.
Really loved working with everyone in the Growth Studio team. You’ve all truly made an impact on us not only as a business but as individuals. Truly appreciate you being part of the journey.
I joined the Breakout Beauty UK programme hoping to up-skill, meet new people and get back into business mode after years of working from home around my kids. What I didn’t expect was just how much it would open my eyes to the potential of my brand. I can now see so many more possibilities than I ever realised before. I’m leaving with a clear plan, bigger ambitions, amazing contacts, heaps of practical insight and even an ongoing conversation with the UK’s biggest beauty retailer. It’s genuinely been a game-changing experience for me.
Thank you for helping me to feel more confident in myself and my brand. Thank you for taking a chance on me and for the connections I’ve made. The connections have been priceless, and every single week has been full of incredible information. Every single person from the Growth Studio team have been so supportive, friendly and have given me the feedback I need to hear in order to grow. I genuinely feel as though I could be a 6-figure brand in 2026, and if it wasn’t for the Breakout Beauty UK programme then I wouldn’t have that belief. Thank you for opening the doors!
I honestly had the best time on Breakout Beauty UK. As a sole small business owner, it was so wonderful to meet other business owners and make some great friendships. It’s a great way to learn about what getting into retail is really like, securing investment and other things from key figures in the space that you perhaps not be able to without a programme like this.
Wow, blown away by the level of support and mentorship. Breakout Beauty UK has impacted us all in ways we never even imagined.
Breakout Beauty UK has been a real step change for our business, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.
The Breakout Beauty UK programme was probably the most valuable part of my brands journey, from the networking to the insight to what retailers require or look for. I feel the programme has catapulted our brand and vision on retail.
The Breakout Beauty UK programme was extremely helpful, thanks to the Growth Studio team for this amazing opportunity. The mentorship, connections and knowledge gained has been incredible.
You guys are clearly head and shoulders above other accelerators. At my New York pitch, the feedback was insane. All the startups said they learnt so much from how I pitched.
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