Olive & June has been standing apart in the nail category; the company has found continued growth as it expanded, becoming the fastest-growing brand in nails and surpassing $100 million in profitable retail sales in 2023, according to industry sources. In the last four years, its net revenue has been increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 147 percent.
“Nails is the fastest-growing category in beauty and personal care,” said founder Sarah Gibson Tuttle, who oversees a team of 35 employees. “With Olive & June leading that DIY movement, you have so much innovation in the space.”
In spring 2019, noticing the frustration consumers faced with at-home nail care options — while managing her three Los Angeles-based salons — Tuttle launched a direct-to-consumer at-home nail care system online at oliveandjune.com. A year later, the business was well positioned to withstand the impact of COVID-19 when nail salons shut down nationwide, including her own, with Olive & June growing 1,500 percent in 2020, 16 times year-over-year.
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“If we think about beauty categories as a whole, there was a very robust DIY offering in every category except for nail [at the time],” Tuttle explained.
At the center of her success is her deep understanding of her consumers, learning and anticipating their needs while bringing innovation. At a mass price point, Tuttle has worked to bring salon-quality results to consumers at home with easy-to-use, proprietary tools (the first being “The Poppy,” a $16 nail polish handle that helps to stabilize non-dominant hands) and a variety of long-lasting formulas that are vegan, cruelty-free and nontoxic, according to Olive & June, which lists ingredients on its website for transparency. Tuttle looked to democratize the salon manicure, she said. (Her 10-item “Mani System,” including a complimentary limited-edition polish, starts at $55, with individual polishes priced at $7.50 or $9.)
“We do not release anything that is already currently in the nail aisle,” Tuttle said. “It’s not interesting to release products that exist. What is interesting is to release products that are better, that last longer, that really solve the consumers’ pain points. Our polish formulas last longer than the competition,” she claimed.
Next came press-on nails, priced at $8 or $10 for a set, that last up to 14 days. Tuttle focused on offering the “realest-looking fake nails” — a brand tag line — to market. She succeeded, also bringing inclusivity with 21 sizes and using 94 percent post-consumer recycled plastic.
“I want people to ask me, ‘Where did you get your nails done?’ And it happens constantly with our community that people ask, ‘Where did you get your nails done?’ And people say, ‘They’re Olive & June,’” she said. “And that’s the most exciting thing because press-ons looking real is the real pain point solution.”
She had the same approach with tab press-ons, the artificial nail alternative to using glue.
“We innovate with those patented products and products that the efficacy is way higher than the competition and that’s why we win,” Tuttle went on. “When we launched the press-ons with tabs, I kept pushing, ‘They have to be stickier, they have to last longer,’ because the biggest issue with tab press-ons is that they last for a day and they’re off, and ours last almost as long as our glue which is incredible.”
It was in 2020 that Olive & June entered retail, partnering with Target for a four-year exclusive and growing to become the retailer’s number-one nail brand (in April of this year, according to IRI data). The brand is now also sold at Walmart and Walgreens.
“Target really made it clear how differentiated our product offering was and our mission,” Tuttle said. “And ultimately, we understand that consumers don’t go to one place for their nails.…Access and accessibility is key in providing the consumer what they need in nail, and so we grow distributions very strategically. I’m not a believer in wide shallow distribution. I think distribution should be scaled strategically, and you should build relationships with the retailer. But more importantly, you build relationships with the customer at that retailer. That’s very core to our strategy, because customers at every retailer are different. They like different things.”
At Target, the customer gravitates toward neutrals, while consumers at Walmart prefer bold designs and holiday-themed nails, according to the brand, and at Walgreens, where Olive & June displays its entire assortment, shoppers are drawn toward seasonal trends.
“All of this is possible because we listen to the consumer better than anyone,” Tuttle contended. “It’s very simply we listen to the consumer better and so we innovate based on that feedback. That’s our secret to disrupting the industry.”
The brand listens by reading every email, DM and comment, she added. “In addition, we do a ton of surveys both with our e-commerce consumer and also in the market. And we look at sales in the market. We understand where the consumer is, what they care about now, things that others are offering, and where can we innovate to offer something that the consumer isn’t currently getting.…We also heavily look at repeat rates. We look at how often people are buying the same products, if they fall off and why they fall off, what happens in that consumer journey so that we can be thoughtful about what to offer them in the future.”
Olive & June is now available at more than 8,000 retail doors throughout the U.S.; about 60 percent of new customers’ first purchase includes the Mani System, notes the brand. It’s on the company’s site — which is sleek and easy to use — where customers primarily look to purchase the system, Tuttle explained.
“Gen Alpha and Gen Z [have] been a huge driver for us,” Tuttle said. “They love Olive & June, and they have started to convince some of their moms. What I love about Olive & June is that we serve five- to 95-[year-olds]. It isn’t one demo that cares about Olive & June, and that is what we want. We want to be your best friend for all things nails, but we want to be it for everyone.”
