It is borderline impossible to scroll through social media without viral make-up brand, Made by Mitchell, making its way onto your screens.
From short form content to live stream shopping through TikTok Shop, there is no denying the beauty brand is the definition of digitally native – but as the company grows and enters new retail partnerships globally, founder Mitchell Halliday is preparing to take Made by Mitchell to the next level.
However, it has not always been plain sailing for the cosmetics brand, which first launched in October 2020, as Halliday adds: “It was very DIY at the start… [and] still very DIY in a lot of ways.
“For the first six months of our journey as a brand, we had a really successful run.”
It was at this point the make-up brand secured its first retail partnership with Beauty Bay, marking its first experience of wholesale – something Halliday said threw the business completely off balance.
“Probably about a year in, I will be honest, there were some really scary times with Made by Mitchell,” he says.
“We had a collective conversation with the three people that worked at Made by Mitchell at the time of ‘are we even going to carry this on?’”
The team persevered for another year, at which point a new addition came in with an idea that would change the brand forever.
How Made by Mitchell set the blueprint for beauty brands on TikTok Shop
Made by Mitchell's Curve Case is one of the brand's most viral bestsellers
The turning point for Made by Mitchell came with the addition of Gabrielle Grierson, the brand’s Head of Social Commerce & Creator/Influencer Relations.
“She, at the time, was obsessed with the idea of us getting on to TikTok Shop,” says Halliday.
“It was very very new – I do not think anyone had actually onboarded at the time.
“I grew up on Instagram, and TikTok was a completely new platform for me – my ego was probably a little bit hurt, because I went from being a fairly big fish on one app to being a brand new fish on the other.”
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Despite initial reservations, the brand took a leap of faith in an effort to save profitability.
“At the time, we did not really have a choice – it was our last kind of chance to make this work and just to make a better noise,” reflects Halliday.
“We took the opportunity and just never looked back – it completely built the brand to what it is today, alongside with a lot of hard work, hours and sacrifice from my team.
“That is how it started, and now here we are with a global brand stocked all over the world in bricks-and-mortar retailers.”
TikTok brings the attention [to the brand], and then the retail space, especially bricks-and-mortar, brings that in real life (IRL) experience
Not only did TikTok Shop save Made by Mitchell, but the partnership also paved the way for other beauty brands to take the plunge and sign-up to this new era shopping platform.
“I think we pioneered the TikTok live shopping space, and we opened up the doors for TikTok to
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