Modern brand building centers on digital attention rather than retail shelf space
Joey Shamah · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · Jun 29, 2026 · at 1:11:28
e.l.f. Cosmetics co-founder Joey Shamah compares launching a cosmetics brand in the early 2000s to launching one in the modern digital media environment.
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“I think when we created the brand in 2002 and three and four, our biggest obstacle was how are we going to get space in a retail environment controlled by four guys? I think today, now it's how are you going to own the most amount of attention from the consumer on Instagram, Snapchat, and Meta.”
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