Prime Highlights-
- Beauty incubator Maesa named its 2027 Magic Incubator class, giving three early-stage founders $35,000 grants each and mentorship through January.
- The class features Beame SPF patches, Sugar Standard tween press-on nails and Gemi K-beauty hand care.
Key Facts-
- Founders must have launched brands with revenue under $1 million to qualify for the program.
- Participants will meet at Harvard in October and attend Cosmoprof in January.
Background-
Beauty incubator Maesa has announced the 2027 class of its Maesa Magic Incubator, a program that gives grants and mentorship to three early-stage beauty entrepreneurs. Each founder will receive a $35,000 grant, and the program ends in January.
The class includes Eniye Okah of Beame, which makes UV-detection face patches that signal when to reapply sunscreen. Monique Claiborne Cardwell leads Sugar Standard, a press-on nail brand for kids and tweens. Hau Yeung and Erin Choi founded Gemi, a K-beauty hand-care brand.
Maesa launched the program in 2023 to support founders from underrepresented communities. Applicants must have launched their brands and earn no more than $1 million in revenue. The company said it received hundreds of applications this year but did not share an exact number.
Maesa CEO Piyush Jain said beauty founders do not reflect the country and that women and people of color lack representation. He said the program stands out for its flexible format.
Founders pick major and minor topics, and mentors tailor guidance to each. The group will meet at Harvard in October for three days with industry experts and travel to the Cosmoprof trade show in January.
Maesa does not invest in past participants, Jain said, in order to keep its business interests apart from the program. Past participants include Tonal Cosmetics founder Christal Alert and Aziza El Wanni of The Potion Studio. Sephora and Ulta also run accelerator programs for early-stage founders.
