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Lookfantastic buying managers say fragrance and makeup offer some of the retailer’s biggest growth opportunities as it considers brands for 2027. The source excerpt does not include Boots buyers’ views or a full account of the retailers’ selection criteria, so those details cannot be confirmed.
Lookfantastic’s buying managers say fragrance and makeup are among the strongest opportunities for the retailer as it considers beauty brands for 2027, with fragrance described as its fastest-growing category over the past five years. A Cosmetics Business report also set out to examine what buyers at Boots and Lookfantastic want from prospective brands, but the available excerpt contains only Lookfantastic comments, leaving Boots’ priorities unconfirmed.
Francesca Whitehead, Lookfantastic’s buying manager, said all categories matter to the retailer, while identifying fragrance and makeup as areas with the biggest growth opportunities. She described fragrance as the largest category in the UK beauty market and said it had been Lookfantastic’s fastest-growing category over the previous five years.
Whitehead reported that Lookfantastic’s fragrance category had delivered 20% compound annual growth over that five-year period. That figure is a category growth rate as presented by the buyer; the excerpt does not give a sales value, year-by-year figures or a breakdown by product type. Whitehead said the performance showed the category’s strength and continuing opportunity.
Whitehead also called makeup an exciting category and said Lookfantastic held authority in it, but the supplied text cuts off before her explanation is complete. Lauren Starkey, the retailer’s senior buying manager for skincare and body, is named as another contributor, though no comments from her appear in the excerpt. The report’s headline refers to both Boots and Lookfantastic, but no Boots buyer statements or specific product priorities are included in the material provided.
Fragrance Leads Lookfantastic’s Growth Priorities
The comments offer emerging beauty brands an indication of where one major online beauty retailer sees commercial opportunity as it plans its 2027 brand intake. Whitehead’s account puts fragrance near the centre of Lookfantastic’s growth outlook, while makeup is also identified as a promising area. Brands considering retailer pitches may take those category signals into account, alongside their own evidence of customer demand and differentiation.
The report’s broader subject is the competition for physical and online retail shelf space. Placement at an established retailer can give a new brand access to shoppers, but the excerpt does not set out a formal application process, selection thresholds or a promise that brands in the named categories will be listed. The buyer comments are directional insight, not a confirmed list of requirements or a guarantee of commercial results.
For readers, the distinction matters: the reported 20% annualised growth rate applies to Lookfantastic’s fragrance category over the stated five-year period. It does not establish that every fragrance brand grew at that rate, nor does the supplied material identify the period’s exact start and end years or explain the calculation.
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Retailers Plan Their 2027 Brand Mix
Cosmetics Business framed its report around the question of how new beauty businesses can gain a place with established UK retailers. It said it had asked buyers from Boots and Lookfantastic about what attracts their attention, the themes and trends they are seeking, and what it takes to join each retailer’s cohort of new brands for 2027.
The article’s introduction notes that brands compete for both in-store and online placement. The visible Lookfantastic section names Lauren Starkey and Francesca Whitehead and begins with the retailer’s category priorities. The source page, however, marks the article as premium subscriber content, and the supplied extract ends partway through Whitehead’s comments on makeup.
That limit means the available text supports only a partial account of Lookfantastic’s plans. It does not show whether the full report discusses particular ingredients, brand storytelling, founder credentials, sustainability, pricing, product formats or commercial terms. Those subjects should not be presented as confirmed buyer requirements on the basis of the excerpt alone.
Boots’ Buyer Priorities Are Missing
The supplied material does not include any comments from Boots buyers, despite the report’s focus on both Boots and Lookfantastic. It also does not provide the full discussion of Lookfantastic’s makeup strategy, the criteria used to select new brands, or the trends and ingredients buyers are seeking. The article’s mention of founder and brand storytelling appears in a subheading, but the excerpt does not contain enough detail to establish how buyers assess those factors.
The reported 20% compound annual growth is attributed to Whitehead, but the excerpt supplies no underlying data, comparison figures or exact five-year dates. It is not clear which sources or method support the market-size description, or whether the growth rate refers to sales, revenue or another measure. The comments also do not confirm specific brand deals, product launches or listing decisions for 2027.
The next useful information would be the complete Cosmetics Business report, including the missing Boots buyer comments and the remainder of Lookfantastic’s discussion. Until that material is available, the confirmed takeaway is limited to Lookfantastic’s stated interest in fragrance and makeup and Whitehead’s reported fragrance growth figure.
Any prospective brand seeking to interpret these comments should distinguish category-level opportunity from retailer selection rules. The excerpt does not specify application deadlines, submission requirements, planned listing numbers or when the 2027 brand cohorts will be finalised. No further timetable is provided in the source material.
Key Questions
What categories does Lookfantastic see as key opportunities for 2027?
Buying manager Francesca Whitehead identified fragrance and makeup as the retailer’s biggest growth opportunities, while saying all categories are important.
What fragrance growth figure did Lookfantastic report?
Whitehead said Lookfantastic’s fragrance category delivered 20% compound annual growth over the preceding five years. The supplied excerpt does not give exact start and end dates or the underlying sales data.
What does the source say Boots buyers want?
The report is framed around buyers from Boots and Lookfantastic, but the available excerpt contains no Boots buyer comments. Boots’ specific priorities cannot be confirmed from this material.
Does the report provide a checklist for brands seeking a listing?
Not in the supplied extract. It refers to what buyers look for and mentions founder and brand storytelling in a subheading, but does not provide the full criteria, application process or selection timetable.
Source: cosmeticsbusiness.com
