Glaze. Viral. Exit. Hailey Bieber’s $1b Beauty Deal Marks The Rise Of Gen Z’s Monetised Aesthetic.

PR Strategist And Cultural Analyst Kiko Gaspar Explores How Rhode’s Sale Signals A New Era Of Beauty Capitalism — Built Not Just For Identity, But For Acquisition.

When Hailey Bieber launched Rhode in 2022, it was wrapped in minimalism but engineered for virality. The blush-toned packaging, the promise of “glazed donut skin,” and the founder’s cool-girl credibility were never just about skincare — they were about crafting a lifestyle so visually consistent and algorithmically optimized, it became instantly monetizable. Less than two years later, that intuition has paid off: Rhode has just been acquired by e.l.f. Beauty in a deal worth up to $1 billion.

Credits Instagram @haileybieber | @rhode | @ratty

This isn’t simply a business success story — it’s a cultural milestone that confirms a new model of brand-building native to Gen Z. The Rhode playbook was never about building a legacy beauty house; it was about creating a brand that felt legacy enough to be bought. The product line remained tight, the social content relentless, the founder both aspirational and “relatable” in just the right proportions. Rhode wasn’t built to last — it was built to sell. “Hailey didn’t create Rhode to run it for 20 years — she created it to dominate the cultural mood, then cash out before it turned,” says Kiko Gaspar, a PR strategist and cultural analyst who specializes in decoding the aesthetics and economics of modern influence.

This exit is emblematic of a broader shift in how today’s generation conceives of entrepreneurship. Gen Z doesn’t separate aesthetic from identity or branding from business — they collapse into one fluid organism. In this logic, a founder is first and foremost a curator of cultural energy. The brand is a container, not a conclusion. And success? “It’s measured less by longevity and more by liquidity,” Gaspar notes. “The endgame isn’t legacy — it’s leverage.”

Rhode’s valuation — reportedly driven by over $200 million in sales in the past year alone — underscores this formula. A limited range of hyper-viral products, a clear visual language, and a direct connection to digital subcultures were enough to catapult the brand into unicorn territory. It also reveals how far we’ve come from the traditional luxury beauty model, where heritage and product depth were the currency. Today, “a potent mood, circulated fast and wide, holds more power than a decades-old pedigree,” he explains.

This is beauty reimagined as a form of soft power. When a product’s packaging, tone, and founder’s presence all align with the aesthetic language of a platform like TikTok or Instagram Reels, it transcends the product itself. It becomes a cultural export. Hailey Bieber’s Rhode functioned less like a skincare brand and more like a tightly branded media channel — a pipeline of mood, aspiration, and intimacy that just happened to sell blush and lip treatments. “It’s the influencer economy in its most evolved form — less content creator, more cultural engineer,” Gaspar adds.

But what does it mean when intimacy is engineered to convert? When brands built on “authenticity” are designed from day one with acquisition in mind? The Rhode deal sits in a growing pile of Gen Z-founded or fronted companies that transition from bedroom start-ups to boardroom assets in the span of an iPhone cycle. “The logic is seductive,” he observes. “Build a brand, build a vibe, sell the story before the algorithm shifts.”

This may be the most telling indicator of a generational shift. While Millennials were still chasing “founder as builder” ideals, Gen Z founders are aestheticists, editors, and short-term strategists. Their fluency isn’t in P&Ls or product pipelines — it’s in emotional design, visual cohesion, and cultural timing. “They don’t just sell skincare,” says Gaspar. “They sell screenshots of feelings.”

Hailey Bieber’s Rhode is the most successful example yet of this model, but it won’t be the last. “The next wave of beauty is coming not from R&D labs but from moodboards,” he concludes. “And its creators won’t measure success in years — they’ll measure it in exits.”