Beauty retailer SEPHORA has announced the launch of its SEPHORA Prize, targeted at European brands. This strategic initiative is designed to discover, support, and scale the most promising beauty brands across Europe.

The SEPHORA Prize will provide the winning brand with unparalleled support for three years, specifically designed to accelerate its development. This will include dedicated R&D guidance, expert mentoring sessions, and extensive visibility sponsorship across all touchpoints. Furthermore, the incubated brand will benefit from an exclusive launch across Europe, coupled with unrivalled promotion through SEPHORA's iconic “The Next Big Thing” campaign. 

In addition to the main laureate and depending on the applications received, Sephora would like to establish a second and third prize. These distinctions would honour brands that have captured strong interest through their innovation and potential. 

Open to brands founded across Europe and all beauty categories, the competition will focus on brand founders with a strong vision for beauty, a clear capacity for innovation, and proven product excellence. The internal SEPHORA jury will seek brands with a distinctive point of view on beauty, a genuine capacity for innovation, an authentic story driven by visionary founders, and a brand that will resonate with Sephora beauty fans, with Sephora's ultimate aim being to cultivate sustainable growth for the winning brand.

Applications are now open for a duration of almost four weeks. All information will be available on the SEPHORA website landing page, allowing any brand meeting SEPHORA's criteria to apply.

The first winner of the SEPHORA Prize will be unveiled at SEPHORiA Europe in the coming months. The brand will also benefit from a dedicated booth, offering unique initial exposure to the SEPHORA community. The brand will then be launched at SEPHORA across Europe in 2027, with a strategic rollout designed to provide massive scale and visibility.