When skincare brand Evereden was hoping to enter the fragrance category, a crucial part of its research came from a pizza party.

To edit its assortment of 70 scents, the label held tween focus groups, with lots of free pizza, to gain unfiltered feedback from beauty’s most enthusiastic and opinionated new customer group: Gen Alpha. They did not hold back.

One scent “gave me Christmas vibes,” said a 13-year-old participant, according to Evereden co-founder and co-CEO Kimberly Ho as she read out some of the group’s findings to The Business of Beauty. Another tween said that one possible fragrance “smells like socks.”

Unsurprisingly, the socks scent didn’t make the cut.

The three Hair + Body Fragrance Mists that launched Mar. 17 on the brand’s DTC site veer toward the sweet side with fruity and gourmand notes, titled “Darling,” “Main Character” and “Supernova.” And equally as important as the fragrances themselves was their packaging design; the new scents came in vivid orange, green, and purple bottles. The line is the latest in a flood of Gen Alpha-centric beauty launches in neon colours and bright hues. Brands like Daise, Digi, Yawn and Btwn have seen how adult-focused brands like Drunk Elephant, Sol de Janeiro and Glow Recipe have shaped the Gen Alpha aesthetic, thanks to their colourful packaging and marketing.

“The colour for Gen Alpha is rainbow,” said Ho. “It truly is this kaleidoscope of colours. That’s what they gravitate toward.” Evereden calls teens, tweens, babies, kids and moms its customers.

Members of Gen Alpha, the largest age group globally by population, have garnered the industry’s notice thanks to their diehard obsession with beauty at an especially early age. According to an Ulta Beauty report published in June 2024 titled “Generation Joy,” Gen Alpha begins trying skincare, makeup and fragrance at age eight – half the age of their millennial and Gen X counterparts.

While brands like Drunk Elephant have welcomed this young customer base with guides on which products are age-appropriate, newer beauty founders are betting that entirely new lines designed specifically for children and tweens can earn a sign-off from parents. They just have to have the cool-kid vibes to match.

Chasing Rainbows

Inspired by influencer get-ready-with-me skincare routines, Gen Alpha’s love for all things beauty has been well documented. A study by Revlon and consumer insights firm AYTM estimated that Gen Alpha spent $4.7 billion on beauty in 2023. Their favourite brands run the gamut from Touchland for eye-catching hand sanitisers they like to trade and collect to Byoma with its green, pink, orange, blue, and purple anti-ageing products full of ingredients like retinol and vitamin C. The phenomenon is not hard to explain, said experts.

“For years, people were scratching their heads, like, ‘Why Drunk Elephant and why Glow Recipe? I don’t understand.’ It was really the colours,” said Ho of what fascinated tweens.

Like Four Loko or vapes in candy-coloured packaging, skincare is the latest category to attract the interest of regulators looking to prevent children from buying products not intended for them. In February, California Assemblymember Alex Lee introduced a bill to ban the sale of anti-ageing products to children. As brands with adult skincare ingredients come under scrutiny, beauty founders see an opening to launch lines with splashy packaging that parents will also deem age-appropriate.

In January 2024, former Jones Road co-founder and Bobbi Brown executive Tara Tersigni launched Yawn, a beauty brand for tweens with a focus on gentle ingredients. Skincare brand Btwn was founded in October 2023 by dermatologist Brooke Jeffy. The brand touts its doctor-approved products to parents with a rainbow logo for kids. Fellow skincare label Moonbow, which launched this month, offers products in green, orange and blue packaging; its moisturiser comes in a fun ball container.

Most brands recognise that they can’t completely abandon Gen-Z as they court Gen Alpha; the key is striking a balance between both. Gen-Z was credited with bringing about the death of the aspirational Instagram aesthetic that veered chaotically to bright yellow packaging and humour-infused brands just three years ago. Gen Alpha, however, prefers more polished colour stories, picture-perfect packaging and the return of shelfies.

“A real feminine energy has been brought back,” said Tersigni, who has noticed a renewed obsession with elaborate beauty product displays.

Even established brands have seen a shift and are responding. Jaimee Lupton, founder of hair care brand Monday, launched Daise, a line of body scrubs and sprays with a yellow logo and pastel branding, in January 2025. For its Ulta Beauty debut, Daise collaborated with Mini Brands toys created by Australian toy company Zuru (which is owned by her partner Nick Mowbray) to include a free toy inside each dissolving bath bomb. The new beauty line expects to reach $50 million in sales revenue in its first year.

Evolving Tastes

As beauty labels try to strike the right chord with a new generation, the question now is whether investments in full-fledged brands will appeal to the tastes of fickle youths.

“If they’re buying Drunk Elephant when they’re nine or 10 years old, it’s going to be passé by the time they’re 13, 14,” said Kelly Atterton, co-founder of teen skincare brand Rile, which takes inspiration from California skater style and is sold at skate shops. “They’re going to think it’s for babies.”

The key for success appears rooted in building a brand that holds a new generation’s attention as its older cohort ages out. Acne-care brand Bubble launched in 2020 for Gen-Z, but has now made its way into the get-ready-with me videos of tween skincare videos. Its orange, blue, green and purple branding appeals to entry-level skincare shoppers.

And as Gen Alpha grows into their teen years and beyond, their aesthetic preferences could go in any direction.

“They’re like five years old now. It’s really hard to say when they’re 18, what that space is going to look like,” said Ho. “You might see these Gen Alpha consumers suddenly want quiet luxury when they’re a little bit older.”

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