LONDON – MCoBeauty, the Australian brand looking to democratize the business by creating affordable dupes, is planting its flag in more countries in Europe.
The brand, which launched in 2020 with six products, was fully acquired earlier this year by DBG Group in a transaction led by its founder Shelley Sullivan. The valuation was $1 billion.
It will launch exclusively at Superdrug in the U.K. on July 21. The brand has already been selling in Belgium and the Netherlands through Kruidvat, a Dutch-owned retail, pharmacy and drugstore chain that specializes in health and beauty.
Fueled by social media influencer reviews, it is the number-one cosmetics brand in its home market of Australia. It has been gaining traction rapidly in the U.S., where it launched in 2024 through Kroger’s Family of Stores. The brand subsequently entered Target Corp.
The Superdrug launch is nationwide, with MCoBeauty set to sell in the majority of the retailer’s 800 stores. It will offer 240 stock keeping units including color cosmetics, skin care and body mists, at dedicated kiosks and in multiple locations around the Superdrug stores.
In line with its value pitch, all products will be priced 15 pounds or less. Products include Super Glow Bronzing Drops; Grip Primer Base, and Australia’s number-one bestseller, XtendLash Mascara, a tubing product that washes off with warm water.
Peter Stocks, MCoBeauty’s European marketing director, said the company is anticipating “hot demand” in the U.K., which he described as one of the most “sophisticated and savvy” beauty markets. “We know our viral products will be hunted down from the second we launch,” he said.
Simon Comins, chief commercial officer at Superdrug, said MCoBeauty’s “trend-led virality and reputation for delivering ‘luxury for less’ perfectly meets the desires of the Superdrug beauty shopper.”
Grip Primer Base is one of MCoBeauty’s hero products.
He added that MCoBeauty and Superdrug were “very aligned, and together we are on a mission to prove that up-to-the-minute, quality beauty innovations can be delivered at affordable prices. We’ve had our eye on the social buzz building around MCoBeauty for a while now, and so we know that the brand will go down a storm with the savvy, trend-led, Superdrug customer.”
Sullivan founded the brand as a more affordable spin-off of her premium beauty company ModelCo. Sullivan, a former model agent, founded ModelCo in 2002, offering self-tanning products and color cosmetics. Over the years, ModelCo. has collaborated with brands including Karl Lagerfeld and Hailey Bieber (before she launched Rhode, and when she was still Hailey Baldwin).
Sullivan is an industry insider, so it’s no surprise that MCoBeauty has been a success in a market that’s dominated by premium and luxury products. MCoBeauty arrived at a time of rising prices, and a swelling interest in makeup and skin care — especially among teenagers and young girls.
The marketing is social-first, with legions of influencers reviewing products on TikTok and other platforms, speaking to MCoBeauty’s one million digital followers worldwide.
It launched as a direct-to-consumer brand and on supermarket shelves in Australia. There are no stand-alone stores.
MCoBeauty Lip Oil Hydrating Treatment.
Similar to its clothing equivalents Zara, Mango and H&M, it is quick to market, taking around 16 to 20 weeks to get its dupes on the shelves. The company has created more than 1,000 products over the past five years.
MCoBeauty’s aim is to disrupt the top five players in any given market, and then become a top five player itself.
DBG, which is owned by the billionaire Dennis Bastas, took a 50 percent stake in MCoBeauty in 2022, and assumed full control at the start of 2025. According to sources, the company generated $63 million in sales in 2023 — up 241 percent from 2022’s $18.5 million.