Good morning. When Fortune released its 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list this week, the newcomers included e.l.f. Beauty. It's 50 years younger than most companies on the list.
The cosmetics and skincare company is 20 years old, while the average age of companies on the list is 70. E.l.f. Beauty took the No. 3 spot this year. It had the third-highest three-year annual total shareholder return rate on the list, at 98.1%.
In its 39th edition, Fortune's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies ranking is determined by a company’s revenue growth, earnings per share growth, and three-year annualized return to shareholders for the period ended June 28. All of the companies on the list trade on a U.S. stock exchange, report their data in U.S. dollars, and file SEC quarterly reports.
When I recently had a conversation with e.l.f. Beauty’s CFO Mandy Fields, she told me the company has had 22 consecutive quarters of net sales growth. Its next earnings report will be released on Nov. 6.
E.l.f. Beauty is a favorite brand among Gen Z, and is gaining popularity with millennials and Gen X. Along with its value proposition—most products retail for about $6—and a push for innovation, marketing is another growth driver, which includes Super Bowl ads and a big social media presence.
“We go on TikTok, and talk to our community, asking, ‘What do you want from e.l.f.?’” Fields explained. And she's made appearances on e.l.f.'s Twitch channel.
But the company’s strength is also in part drawn from having a diverse executive team and employee base, Fields said. The diverse representation within the company "absolutely has an impact on what we produce from a product standpoint and our marketing campaigns," she said.
E.l.f. beauty’s board of directors is 78% women and 44% diverse, which reflects the communities the company serves, Fields noted. The company has embarked on an initiative called “Change the Board Game,” working toward the goal of doubling the representation of women and diverse candidates on public corporate boards by 2027. In collaboration with North Carolina A&T State University, it has also released research on the benefits of board diversity.
Tarang Amin, CEO and chairman of e.l.f. Beauty, has been very intentional, conducting extensive searches to ensure there’s diverse representation on the board, which includes diversity of thought, Fields said.
She joined e.l.f. Beauty as CFO in 2019 and has over 20 years of finance experience. “I became CFO of a private company when I was 35 years old,” she told me.
Younger generations, in particular, want to support companies that reflect their communities, Fields said. They want to know who's on the company's board and management team.
"We want to make sure that when they go and check e.l.f. out, we're walking the walk," she said.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
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