E.l.f. Cosmetics to raise prices by $1

Dive Brief:

E.l.f. Cosmetics will raise prices by $1 starting Aug. 1, the brand announced on Instagram Friday. 
Seventy-five percent of the company’s products will stay $10 or under. However, the company noted that retail prices are at the sole discretion of the retailer. 
“Not gonna lie, inflation and tariffs are hitting us hard,” the company said in the post. “But we’re committed to keeping the quality high and prices e.l.f.ordable.” 

Dive Insight:

E.l.f’s low-cost beauty products are about to get slightly more expensive. 

The company is attributing the price increases to tariffs and said they are “keeping an [eye] on the tariff situation as it evolves.” 

A number of retailers and brands have been announcing price increases due to the Trump administration’s tariff policies, including Walmart. Even though some temporary tariff rate reductions were recently announced, the levies are still too high, according to the big-box retailer. 

“We’re positioned to manage the cost pressure from tariffs as well or better than anyone,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said earlier this month. “But, even at the reduced levels, the higher tariffs will result in higher prices.”

E.l.f, for its part, acknowledged that “things are tight” right now for shoppers. In response to one user praising the company for its transparency, the company responded “prices may be changing but what we stand for isn’t.” 

The company last fall said that it used to be much more reliant on China, with 99% of its products sourced from the country. As of November, Chief Financial Officer Mandy Fields said that sourcing from China had gone down to 80%. 

“We certainly have run a number of scenarios for potential tariffs and I think still too early to tell what level those may come in,” Fields previously said. “But we have a playbook and we have a number of levers at our disposal.”

Around that same time last year the beauty company announced that it would be going into a subset of Dollar General stores as a way to “democratize access for consumers who otherwise wouldn’t have the best of beauty,” CEO Tarang Amin said.

E.l.f. reports Q4 earnings on Wednesday.