How I started in beauty: Vicky Kelly, Beauty Category Director at Holland & Barrett

Having launched a major overhaul of its beauty category last year, Holland & Barrett is continuing to redefine the role of beauty within its wider health and wellness proposition. At the heart of this strategy is a more holistic, “inside-out” approach to beauty, bringing together efficacy, science and wellbeing to reflect the evolving needs of today’s consumer.

Leading this is Category Director Vicky Kelly, who joined the retailer in June 2024 from Beauty Bay, where she served as Commercial Director. Prior to this, she held roles across the beauty industry at Dr Organic, Cole Beauty and THG.

In this interview with TheIndustry.beauty, Kelly reflects on her career journey and the lessons she has learnt along the way, while sharing what she enjoys most about her role at Holland & Barrett and why having a clear strategy is key to success.

Have you always had an interest in beauty? Why does it appeal to you, and why did you want to work within it?

From a young age, I loved experimenting with hair colour and makeup, and I was always interested in looking after my skin. What has kept me in the industry for more than 20 years, however, is how personal beauty is and the impact it can have on confidence.

Beauty means something different to everyone. Makeup can be a form of creativity and self-expression, while the right skincare or haircare product can help someone address a concern that may have affected how they feel about themselves for years.

I also love that the beauty industry never stands still. There are always new innovations, ingredients, technologies and trends to learn about. It sits at a fascinating intersection between science and emotion. Products need to deliver visible results, but they can also have a very personal impact on how someone feels about themselves. I find that combination continues to keep me interested and engaged in the category.

Tell us about your first job in beauty. What was this experience like?

My first role was with a brand house that owned a portfolio of consumer beauty brands, including Collection Cosmetics and Batiste, alongside smaller skincare and fragrance brands. I started in new product development and sourcing, which gave me an incredible introduction to how the industry works from the product upwards.

I had the opportunity to travel internationally, visit factories and see first-hand how products were developed and manufactured. It taught me about formulation, packaging, quality, ethical sourcing and the commercial decisions behind creating a successful product.

Because the portfolio covered so many different categories, I developed a breadth of knowledge very early in my career, which has been incredibly valuable in my current role at Holland & Barrett. Today, I’m looking at beauty much more holistically, bringing together topical beauty with our wider expertise in health and wellness, but that early understanding of how products are developed and what customers are looking for still informs how I approach the category. I found the whole process fascinating then, and still do. I loved taking an idea, turning it into a physical product and eventually seeing it reach the customer.

What were the most valuable skills or lessons you gained from that first experience?

The biggest lesson was to remain adaptable and always be willing to learn. During my eight years with the business, I worked across several different roles and functions and touched almost every beauty category. I learned not to define myself too narrowly and to actively seek opportunities that would broaden my understanding.

It also taught me that no part of a beauty business operates in isolation. A brilliant creative idea still has to be manufacturable, commercially viable, delivered on time and relevant to the customer. Understanding those connections early in my career gave me a strong foundation for the broader commercial and leadership roles I have held since.

Finally, I learned the importance of relationships. Whether you are working with a factory, supplier, brand founder or internal team, trust and collaboration are often what turn an idea into a successful outcome.

What do you most enjoy about your current role?

What I most enjoy about my current role is the opportunity to redefine what beauty can mean within a health and wellness retailer. At Holland & Barrett, we are uniquely placed to look beyond topical products and help customers understand the relationship between inner health, outer confidence and overall wellbeing.

As Beauty Category Director, I have had the opportunity to reshape the beauty strategy and develop a more relevant proposition across stores and digital. That has included introducing new brands and categories, creating partnerships and bringing topical beauty and ingestible wellness together through a more holistic, inside-out approach. A big part of that has been thinking about how we make this easier for customers to understand and shop, bringing together areas such as skincare and haircare with supplements for hair, skin, nails and collagen.

We have also tested how that could come to life in our stores, creating beauty spaces that were brighter, easier to shop and encouraged more discovery. It was really rewarding to see such a positive response from customers and how the concept helped bring our wider beauty proposition to life in a more engaging and accessible way.

Seeing the category return to double-digit growth within the first 12 months was incredibly rewarding, particularly because it demonstrated what can happen when there is a clear strategy and teams across the business are aligned behind it.

I particularly enjoy the challenge of turning around a declining category or finding a new solution to a problem. There is something incredibly rewarding about seeing an idea develop, bringing people with you and watching it make a genuine difference to both the customer and the business.

If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice at the very start of your career, what would it be - and why?

I would tell myself to back my own judgement sooner.

Earlier in your career, it is easy to assume that the most senior person in the room must have the best answer. Experience has taught me that good judgement comes from staying close to the customer, recognising the opportunity and being prepared to ask the questions that others may avoid.

I would also tell myself not to worry about following a perfectly linear career path. Moving across various areas such as sourcing and NPD, buying and category management, e-commerce, supply chain and commercial leadership may not have looked like a conventional route at the time, but that breadth has become one of my greatest strengths.

What does the next chapter of your own career look like, and how are you hoping to grow from here?

What excites me about the next chapter is continuing to challenge how beauty is traditionally defined. The connection between beauty, health and wellness is becoming increasingly important, and at Holland & Barrett we have a real opportunity to help customers understand and navigate that relationship through a more holistic, inside-out approach. As we bring that approach to more stores and continue introducing new brands and innovations, I’m excited to see how much further we can take it.

I also want to keep learning and widening my experience. Beauty never stands still, which is one of the reasons I have stayed in the industry for so long. Alongside that, I would like to spend more time supporting and developing others, helping people build confidence, trust their judgement and create careers that are broad, varied and fulfilling.

Has there been a person in beauty that you have always admired and why?

I would find it difficult to single out one person. I have been fortunate to have several important mentors throughout my career, each of whom has influenced me at different stages and helped shape the way I think, work and lead.

More broadly, I admire how the beauty industry champions diverse leaders and founders, creating space for different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. There are so many people challenging conventions, building businesses with purpose and changing how beauty is represented. I find that collective energy incredibly inspiring.

Vicky Kelly will be speaking at TheIndustry.beauty Summit on 1 October 2026 at The Forum, Leadenhall, London. 

The brand-new, agenda-setting summit will bring together leading beauty industry professionals for a day of debate, discussion and decision-making, exploring the key issues shaping the future direction of the industry. Tickets available here.