Hair health start-up ByErim (www.byerim.com) and refillable deodorant brand Make Waves (wearemakewaves.com) won Breakout Beauty UK last December – the inaugural industry-led programme spearheaded by start-up accelerator Growth Studio, early-stage venture capital firm Venrex and trade organisation British Beauty Council. The accelerator selected a cohort of 12 UK start-ups back in August across all facets of beauty – from hair and beard care to facial tools and plumping products – in a bid to find the next “monster” beauty brand.
And with UK beauty valued at £30bn and growing four times faster than the wider UK economy, according to the British Beauty Council, there is plenty of potential for challenger brands.
“Innovative, fearless and purpose-driven”
Paul Finch, co-founder of Growth Studio, said the two winning brands ByErim and Make Waves embody exactly what Breakout Beauty UK wants to amplify. “They are innovative, fearless and purpose-driven brands that are setting new standards for the beauty industry. We’re proud to support their growth and excited to see how they reshape the beauty landscape in the months and years ahead.”
Speaking to Premium Beauty News, ByErim founder Erim Kaur said winning is surreal. “ByErim has been something that I believed in from, not just the day of inception for the brand, but at 14 years old when I first discovered the formula for our best-selling hair oil with my Grandma.”
“...With this incredible backing for the year ahead, I feel very fortunate to have such a passionate and reliable team by my side. Our goal is to make this the year we take ByErim global,” Kaur said.
Make Waves co-founders Oliver Batiste and Owen Machon said the recognition is incredible. “It’s a real validation of the care we’ve put into building a brand that genuinely serves people and champions sustainability without compromise.”
“...The support from Boots, TikTok and the Growth Studio opens doors we simply couldn’t access alone. Our hope is to turn this momentum into long-term, sustainable growth: building a brand people trust, broadening accessibility, and ensuring we keep raising the bar for what responsible, high-performing beauty can look like in the UK,” they said.
ByErim offers a selection of luxury oils, dews and scrubs alongside a shampoo and conditioner – each designed to revitalise and strengthen hair and beards. Make Waves offers a range of sustainable, refillable antiperspirants and a natural deodorant, giving consumers the choice of product type, applicator and subscription plan.
“So much diversity”
Grace Vernon, head of global foresight and trends at Boots, said it was fantastic Breakout Beauty UK had pooled together such a diverse group of brands for the final accelerator programme. “There is so much diversity in people, in thoughts, in products, and I think that’s exactly what we wanted to see,” Vernon said.
Mitchell Halliday, founder of viral UK makeup brand Made by Mitchell and Breakout Beauty UK ambassador, agreed: “I really love the amount of diversity among the founders; I think that’s really beautiful and I was hoping that that’s what I would see.” All of the founders also have a very clear sense of the problem they are looking to solve, Halliday said, which is crucial as a founder or co-founder in today’s beauty market.
Emily Caine, head of beauty at TikTok Shop UK, added: “It’s incredibly exciting to see diverse co-founders. I think it’s amazing to see people of colour, women, different ages – this is an aspect which really excites me.” And, importantly, all of the founders behind these brands “deeply believe in their product” and have a sense of assuredness and passion that is contagious, which is key to success, Caine said.
Overcoming hurdles, staying resilient
At a time when start-up funding and support is increasingly hard to obtain, the three beauty experts said Breakout Beauty UK accelerator is well-timed to empower founder-led brands to grow smartly.
According to Growth Studio, three big hurdles face beauty start-ups today in the UK: retail access, the rapidly changing discovery commerce landscape and funding or capital. “We wanted to confront those three things, to help founders get to the next stage,” Finch said, “because there are very few guidelines or books for founders to be able to use to build those businesses themselves.”
The six-week accelerator took the cohort through masterclasses and meetings addressing these challenges, he said, and provided expertise and insight from successful beauty entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Simon Bumfrey, head of banking at HSBC Innovation Banking – the host of Breakout Beauty UK events during the programme – said access to such an accelerator, for any start-up, opens exciting doors. “Collaboration between corporates, investors and founders can unlock the growth and innovation and great ideas you have. I’m a real believer that creativity and business acumen go hand-in-hand.”
Trinny Woodall, founder of Trinny London and Breakout Beauty UK ambassador, said success in beauty business today relies on relentless passion, resilience and an “unbelievably tough work ethic”. Carefully hiring the right team too – across various specialities and aspects of the business – is also vital, Woodall said. “I learned to hire the right people at the right time (...) Whenever people were coming to join the business, I just wanted to know how much passion, determination and hardworking nature they had; that was the most important thing.”
Both ByErim and MakeWaves will kickstart their 12-months Boots listing in January 2026 across 10 stores in the UK.
