Breakout Beauty UK, the accelerator programme designed to discover and support UK beauty founders, has unveiled the finalists for its 2026 edition.
From purpose-led skin care, sustainable sunscreen, men's hair care and personalised products for mothers, the 11 finalists have been described by the programme as “the future of British beauty”.
The cohort reflects an estimated 63% female founders, and more than 36% of founders and co-founders represent Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
The programme’s architect and co-founder at Growth Studio, Paul Finch, told Cosmetics Business: “I can already see that this cohort is going to gel very well together.
“This has real benefits for them all as they will share and learn from their respective backgrounds, life experiences, commercial challenges and opportunities.”
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Breakout Beauty UK’s 11 finalists for 2026 include:
- Shyne – founder: Alvin Mills. A ‘clean’ grooming system for men with curly and afro-textured hair
- Skin Bunny – founder: JP Lawrence. Under-eye product that reduces wrinkles, bags and dark circles fast
- Skingredients – founder: Jennifer Rock (‘The Skin Nerd’). An education-based skin health system simplifying routines with real results
- Aegles – founder: Zoe William. Science-led skin health brand addressing the root causes of acne in women
- MAYAH – founders: Jessica Smith and Rebecca Heywood. Clinically tested, premium personal care created specifically for mothers
- KEATS – founder: Lucinda Hart. Simplifying and decoding affordable skin care inspired by customers' insights
- That Good Hair – founder: Paris Reveira. A plant-based hair care brand for textured hair and sensitive scalps
- Selkie – founder: Cicely Coops. The UK’s only powder-to-liquid sustainable hair care brand with refillable containers
- Stil – founder: Tash Hagan. A mineral-based, planet-friendly sunscreen range made with natural ingredients for customers with sensitive skin
- Dussl – founder: Fraser Wilson. Premium, gender neutral skin care with SPF 50 for daily protection and moisture
- Bsset – founders: Ibrahim Abusamra and Mohammed Yaqub. Men’s hair care brand developed by founder and celebrity barber for curly, coily and wavy hair.
Who decided on the finalists, and what do they stand to gain?
More than 300 beauty entrepreneurs applied for Breakout Beauty UK in 2026.
A judging panel from Growth Studio, health and beauty retailer Boots, and investors JamJar Investments, Joyance Partners and Interline Ventures selected the final eleven brands.
The programme has been extended to a ten-week course, which Breakout Beauty UK claimed will deliver even “deeper expertise and hands-on growth support for market-ready beauty founders”.
Two brands, including one winner and one runner-up, will leave Breakout Beauty UK 2026 with a commercial support package valued at approximately £850,000.
The winning brand will receive a retail launch into 50 Boots stores UK-wide, as well as gold-tier marketing and executive mentorship support.
TikTok Shop will provide dedicated business development support, including dedicated account management, discounts and incentives.
The runner-up will receive a launch on Boots.com and silver-tier marketing support, as well as the same level of support for the runner-up from TikTok Shop.
Finalists can visit the Breakout Beauty UK website for full terms and conditions.
Luxury hair growth brand, ByErim, and refillable antiperspirant company, Make Waves, were named as winners last year.
Finch said Breakout Beauty UK returned this year after the realisation of “how important the programme was”.
He added: “It was down to how much more help we could provide, and how many more people wanted to be involved.
“So, we have made the programme more ambitious, longer, and included much more support for both the founders and the ecosystem of brilliant beauty founders.”
This was particularly apparent due to the challenging nature of the beauty industry in recent years, which has been contending with rising costs due to tariffs and the impact of the war in the Middle East.
Finch continued: “The beauty industry has a myriad of endemic challenges that prevent founders from connecting directly to the people they need to.
“This includes challenges in raising capital, getting into retail, scaling their brands, and ultimately, establishing mainstream brands.
“Many new founders can start a beauty brand almost overnight, and it is fantastic that this early-stage opportunity has been genuinely democratised.
“However, the beauty sector is one of the hardest industries I have seen in terms of enabling founders to scale and become a £20m-to-£50m brand.”
