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Key takeaways
Mandy Fields, Chief Financial Officer of beauty and skincare company e.l.f. Beauty, said that even as the company's business expands at high speed, it still adheres to its high value-for-money positioning.
Leveraging social media influencers is a key marketing strategy for e.l.f. Numerous products were developed and launched based on user feedback collected from social media.
Mandy Fields, Chief Financial Officer of e.l.f. Beauty
As a member of the CFO Council, Mandy Fields has led e.l.f. Beauty to rapid growth in scale in recent years. This beauty and skincare company has grown from a budget small cosmetics brand focused on cruelty-free products into a global beauty giant. The company's growth includes: a $1 billion acquisition in 2025 of the lifestyle beauty brand Rhode founded by Hailey Bieber; a $355 million acquisition in 2023 of skincare brand Naturium; and, at the same time, its own organic growth—in August of this year, the company recorded its 30th consecutive quarter of year-over-year net sales growth. For the 2026 fiscal year ending in March, e.l.f. Beauty posted full-year net sales of $1.636 billion, up 25% year over year.
Fields became CFO in 2019. She said that although the business continues to expand, e.l.f. has always made staying true to its original mission a priority. "We are always deliberate about adhering to our mission: to make quality beauty products accessible to more ordinary people. This is something we think about all the time and discuss repeatedly internally."
Like many retail companies, Fields has observed that consumers are now spending more cautiously and selectively. But she believes that thanks to its high value-for-money positioning, the company is relatively well placed. "75% of our products are priced at $10 or below," she said. "Consumers still choose e.l.f. because they value our product value, innovation capability, fun marketing and digital operations, and our accessible and approachable product positioning."
Navigating tariffs and cost pressures
The mission of achieving accessible beauty ran into major headwinds during the Trump administration's tariff policies. About 40% of e.l.f. products are sourced from China, and the company absorbed more than $50 million in cost impacts last year as a result. In August 2025, under the dual pressure of tariffs and inflation, the company raised prices by about $1 across its entire product line. The company was transparent with the public about the decision to raise prices. e.l.f. CEO Tarang Amin said at the time that consumers appreciated that candor; but Fields admitted that the price increase ultimately caused a decline in sales volume.
Later, the Supreme Court ruled that some tariff policies were invalid, and e.l.f. received about $50 million in tariff refunds, along with interest generated by the corresponding tariffs. The company's financial reports show that in the first fiscal quarter ending in August, driven by this refund, net profit nearly doubled year over year, and gross margin rose 14 percentage points year over year. After receiving the tariff refunds, the company rolled back most of the previously raised product prices. But the results showed that only 10% of products saw a significant rebound in sales after the price cuts. e.l.f. used part of the refund to keep those items at lower prices.
Fields said most of the tariff refund money was invested in marketing, which is a core strategic priority for the company. Marketing helps build and maintain the brand. "We invest 23%–25% of net sales in marketing and digital business. Through marketing, we maintain a close connection with our consumer community."
On March 18, 2024, the New York Stock Exchange welcomed e.l.f. Beauty for its listing, marking the brand's 20th anniversary.
Dual-engine marketing through user communities and influencers
One of e.l.f.'s core strategies is to use social media influencers to spread products and build brand awareness. "Influencers and content creators have completely changed how the beauty industry markets," she said. "Consumers watch creators explain and recommend products to learn what's trending now." Although e.l.f. also works with top-tier influencers, most of its marketing budget goes to mid-tier and smaller creators. "Their connection with their fan communities is more authentic and credible."
"Many e.l.f.-related posts are produced spontaneously by influencers," Fields said. "We send samples, but whether to share them with fans is up to the influencers themselves." All brands under the company closely monitor what consumers are asking for on social media. "We have almost no distance from our user community," Fields said. "The key is to stay close to users, carefully read social platform comments, and listen to what everyone is saying during TikTok livestreams."
The company has repeatedly turned online user feedback into product innovation. For example, the bronzing contour drops came from a large number of user requests during TikTok livestreams; and the pickled cucumber lip balm was born out of a social media pickled cucumber trend. "We are always listening and responding to user needs as quickly as possible. I think this is one of the secrets to e.l.f.'s success," Fields said.
Fields has long been passionate about studying what motivates consumers to buy and how user preferences translate into business data. "I really enjoy thinking about what drives consumers to place an order," she said. "Looking at the data behind it, why does this product sell better than another? Why does this marketing plan work better than others? This job is very interesting. As CFO, I can see the full picture of the company's entire business line."
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