After 10 weeks of masterclasses, buyer meetings, pitch drills and plenty of hard work behind the scenes, Breakout Beauty UK 2026 has come to a close. And what a way to finish!
Last night, the 2026 cohort took to the stage for the Grand Finale, pitching their businesses and showcasing everything they have built throughout the programme.
As the exclusive fulfilment partner for Breakout Beauty UK, we've had the opportunity to support this year's founders throughout their journey – bringing a different perspective to the programme around fulfilment, operations, retail readiness, supply chain and the infrastructure needed to support growth.
After an evening of impressive pitches, the judges selected BSSET as the 2026 Grand Prize winner, with Skingredients taking the Runner-Up spot.
A huge congratulations to BSSET, founded by Ibrahim Abusamra and Mohammed Yaqub, who take home the programme's headline prize.
BSSET has already built a serious following by making men's hair styling simpler and more accessible.
BSSET currently reports more than 300,000 products sold, alongside a 4.9 rating on TikTok Shop – a strong indication of the demand the brand has already created before stepping onto the Boots stage. That existing traction makes the opportunity ahead particularly exciting.
As the 2026 Grand Prize winner, BSSET will receive a package including a launch into 50 Boots stores, a Gold marketing package, a Boots.com listing, senior Boots mentorship and the full TikTok Shop package.
For Ibrahim and Mo, the challenge now is turning the momentum they've already created into the next stage of growth – with the operational infrastructure to match. That is something we've been supporting throughout the Breakout Beauty programme.
Going from a fast-growing direct-to-consumer and TikTok Shop brand to a business supplying a major national retailer brings a whole new set of operational considerations. Demand planning, inventory, retail requirements, fulfilment flows and customer experience all become increasingly important as volumes grow and channels multiply.
BSSET has already demonstrated that there is demand for the brand. Now, it's time to see just how far that demand can take it.
Over the course of the Breakout Beauty UK accelerator, the pair have worked through the realities of taking that proposition to the next level – from commercial strategy and retail to the operational considerations that come with significantly increased demand.
And that's exactly why programmes like Breakout Beauty matter.
A great product can get a brand noticed. But turning that attention into sustainable growth requires the foundations to be ready for what comes next. We're incredibly excited to see where they take it.
Congratulations, too, to Skingredients and founder Jennifer Rock, who took the Runner-Up prize.
Created by award-winning skincare expert, dermal facialist, skin tutor and bestselling author Jennifer Rock, Skingredients takes an education-led, active-first approach to skincare. The range is built around the Key Four – a simple four-step foundation designed to support skin health – alongside a Match + Mix collection targeting more specific skin concerns.
The philosophy is refreshingly straightforward. Results-driven skincare without unnecessary complexity.
The range is designed for all genders, ages and skin types and is fragrance-free, vegan-friendly and built around scientifically supported active ingredients. The brand also places a strong emphasis on education, helping customers understand what their skin actually needs rather than simply adding more products to the bathroom shelf.
As Runner-Up, Skingredients receives a package including a Boots.com launch, Silver marketing support and TikTok Shop support.
For Jennifer, it represents another opportunity to put Skingredients in front of a much wider audience, while bringing the brand's particular combination of skincare expertise and accessible education to a new generation of customers.
For IFGlobal, it has been brilliant to see Skingredients bring the perspective of a more established beauty business to a cohort that spans different categories and stages of growth.
Because operational growth doesn't look the same for every brand.
For an emerging brand, the question might be how to build the right fulfilment model before demand accelerates.
For an established business like Skingredients, it can be about creating the flexibility and efficiency needed to support new channels, new customers and new retail opportunities without compromising the experience that existing customers know and love.
That's exactly the kind of conversation we were proud to bring to Breakout Beauty UK.
The Grand Prize and Runner-Up weren't the only awards announced on the night.
MAYAH and Aegle's were selected to join Boots Ignite, Boots’ accelerator programme for emerging beauty brands.
Boots Ignite is designed to help promising brands launch and scale within the retailer, giving them a route to reach Boots customers and benefit from the expertise and support of the Boots team.
A huge congratulations to Jessica Smith and Rebecca Heywood of MAYAH, and Zoe Williams of Aegle’s. It’s another significant milestone for two brands that have made a real impression throughout Breakout Beauty UK. We're excited to see where their Boots journey takes them!
The programme also recognised two brands with the Bird & Bird Best Brand Award and Bird & Bird Innovator Award.
Keats, founded by Lucinda Hart, took home the Best Brand Award, while Selkie Hair, founded by Cicely Coops, was named Innovator Award winner. Four very different achievements, but all reflecting the depth of talent across this year's cohort.
One of the best things about Breakout Beauty UK has been the diversity of businesses within the cohort.
The 2026 finalists came from different categories, growth stages and founder backgrounds, but all were united by the ambition to build something bigger.
The full cohort included:
Keats – Lucinda Hart
BSSET – Ibrahim Abusamra & Mohammed Yaqub
MAYAH – Jessica Smith & Rebecca Heywood
Aegle's – Zoe Williams
Selkie Hair – Cicely Coops
Skingredients – Jennifer Rock
dussl – Fraser Wilson
Skin Bunny – Jon-Paul Lawrence
SHYNE – Alvin Mills
That Good Hair – Paris Reveira
Stil Suncare – Tasha Hagan
While only some could leave with an award, every one of these brands has come away with something arguably more important: a stronger network, new knowledge, greater confidence and a clearer view of what comes next.
Beauty is one of the most exciting categories in ecommerce because growth can happen incredibly quickly.
A product goes viral. A creator posts about it. A retailer comes knocking. International customers discover the brand. Suddenly, the operational model that worked perfectly well a few months ago is being asked to handle a completely different level of complexity.
That's where fulfilment becomes part of the growth conversation.
Throughout Breakout Beauty UK, we've been able to help founders think through questions around fulfilment economics, retail fulfilment, multi-channel operations, supply chain, courier solutions, localisation and cross-border growth.
Fulfilment isn't just about storing products and sending parcels, but creating an operation that can support the customer experience you've promised. Whether that customer has bought directly from your website, through a marketplace or from a major retailer.
And the earlier founders start thinking about that infrastructure, the more options they have when their next big opportunity arrives.
"The exciting thing about working with ambitious beauty founders is seeing how quickly the opportunity can change. The operational model that supports a brand at one stage of growth won't necessarily support it at the next. Thinking about fulfilment early means founders can build for the opportunity rather than having to catch up with it.”
- Lisa Downes, Senior Strategic Business Development Manager, IFGlobal.
It's easy to look at Breakout Beauty UK through the lens of its headline prizes, but after ten weeks, what stands out is everything that happens before the finale.
The cohort has had access to masterclasses, buyer meetings, mentoring, pitch preparation and industry expertise from some of the biggest names across beauty, retail and business.
More importantly, the founders have had the chance to learn from each other. Because building a beauty business can be a lonely experience. Having a group of founders at a similar stage – sharing the wins, the wobbles, the questions and the occasional panic message in the DMs – can make a huge difference.
That sense of community was obvious at the finale. Every founder who stepped onto that stage had been selected from hundreds of applicants, and every one of them had a story worth hearing.
For BSSET, the immediate future includes a major Boots launch and the opportunity to put its brand in front of customers across 50 stores.
For Skingredients, the Boots.com launch creates another route to reach and grow its audience.
For MAYAH and Aegle's, Boots Ignite opens another exciting chapter.
For Keats and Selkie Hair, their awards recognise two very different strengths – brand and innovation.
And for the rest of the cohort, the programme doesn't end because the finale does.
This is the beginning. At IFGlobal, that's the part we're particularly excited about.
We've seen these founders ask difficult questions about what growth actually means for their businesses. We've seen them think beyond the next order or next campaign and start considering the infrastructure required to support the businesses they want to build.
"That's ultimately what Breakout Beauty is about. Not just creating a great beauty product, but creating a great beauty business."
- Ryan Grimshaw, Head of Marketing and Communications, IFGlobal.
Congratulations to Ibrahim, Mo, Jennifer and every founder in the 2026 cohort.
And a huge thank you to Growth Studio, Boots UK, TikTok Shop and all of the programme partners for creating a platform that gives emerging British beauty brands the opportunity, expertise and connections to take their next big step.
We're proud to have been part of it, and we can't wait to see what's these brands do next!