The Interview: Made by Mitchell on finding success on TikTok and driving global growth

It's no secret that TikTok is proving a beneficial platform for beauty businesses. Boosting brand awareness and sales through its viral nature, it has propelled a number of brands to stardom, including the very popular Made by Mitchell.

In this interview with TheIndustry.beauty, Founder Mitchell Halliday speaks about the benefits of TikTok and his advice for businesses on the app, its high street debut with Boots, how he and his team have kept up with demand, and his ambitions for the brand.

Having previously dreamed of a career as a singer, making it to the bootcamp stage on the X Factor with his boy band, Halliday is no stranger to the spotlight. However, his fame today is not down to his vocal chords but rather his impressive makeup artistry.

Halliday's passion for makeup flourished whilst working in a friend's salon, where he began transforming clients through his makeup skills. Seeing people regain their confidence through his artistry resonated strongly with him, motivating him to develop his craft and empower more people through makeup.

Taking to Instagram, during a time when the platform offered a quicker path to growth, Halliday's rise to fame was boosted by his collaborations with other prominent names within the industry. Championing the transformative power of makeup through his artistry, he later decided to take this a step further with the launch of his own brand.

"In the early stages of my career, I collaborated with so many amazing brands, and whilst they were fantastic experiences, I felt limited in how far I could take something that had to remain aligned to the brand's aesthetic, formulas and artistry. That is when I decided it was time to do something on my own, without another brand's name attached, and Made by Mitchell was born," Halliday tells TheIndustry.beauty.

Made by Mitchell launched in 2020 from Halliday's love for making products for makeup addicts and self-expressionists. "The concept didn’t begin with products or aesthetics, it was always community," he explains. "I wanted to create a safe space for people to be as creative and outrageous in their makeup as they wanted to be, whilst learning or sharing techniques and having accessible, affordable products to fuel their passion.

"I knew if I followed my gut to step outside the box, listened to my community on what the demand was, and surrounded myself with like-minded people, then the product line and overall look of the brand would fall into place. Since then, it has taken the world by storm and filled so many gaps in the beauty industry."

The brand first launched with six shades of its cult-favourite ‘Blursh' liquid blusher, three eyeshadow palettes, makeup organiser cases, makeup brushes and a mirror. Its products soon became a staple for makeup artists and beauty aficionados alike, with it now having developed hundreds of different products and shades, still in keeping with Halliday's vision of tapping into consumer demand and trends.

"Like anything, as culture trends change so do shopping trends, and what was our hero product Blursh, a silky matte finish blusher that was right on for the 'full-beat' glam era it stepped into, our hero product has now become Curve Case, its softer, creamier variation," he reveals.

"I’ve always stayed true to my ethos of creating makeup for the creatives, so you will see me expanding ranges into what some would consider 'questionable' colours, but if that one shade has helped harbour one person’s passion out there then that’s what makes it 'Made by Mitchell'."

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The success of the brand's high-performance products was further amplified by its presence on TikTok, becoming one of the hottest merchants on the app, with its viral content helping rack up more than 26.5 million likes and over 942k followers. In 2022, the brand launched on TikTok Shop, making its products an "integral part" of the evolving beauty landscape on the platform.

"It's been amazing to watch Made by Mitchell grow on TikTok. Beauty content works so well on the platform, which has helped us to seamlessly convert our followers into customers on TikTok Shop. We've been successful in tapping into broader TikTok trends, such as launching our "Barbie Bundle" to coincide with the Barbie premiere and have made the most of TikTok Shop's different formats, such as shoppable LIVEs and shoppable short videos, to drive sales," explains Halliday.

For a brand to find success on TikTok, he believes it's important to make content that feels truly authentic to the platform. Whether that's creating engaging and consistent content, actively hosting LIVE events with your customers, or integrating content with TikTok's shopping features, such as shoppable LIVES.

"Listen to your audience and make sure you give them what they want and show them the best ways to use your products. Having this understanding is a great place to start for any business looking to be successful on TikTok Shop," he adds.

This must be worthwhile advice, as the brand continues to go from strength to strength on the platform. In fact, it recently became the first UK business to hit $1 million in revenue in one day on TikTok Shop. As part of this, Halliday hosted a 12-hour LIVE session from Manchester, offering exclusive discounts on some of his most viral products while launching eight new products.

The record-breaking session saw one product sell every second and resulted in $830,000 in sales, contributing to the beauty brand hitting the $1 million TikTok Shop milestone in just 24 hours.

"Achieving $1 million in sales in 24 hours on TikTok Shop was an incredibly proud moment," says Halliday. "Our team put everything into making the 12-hour LIVE an exciting and enjoyable shopping experience. This milestone shows the potential TikTok LIVE shopping has to supercharge a brand. Celebrating this success with friends and family was a real highlight, but we remain focused on continuing to climb to new peaks."

Speaking of new peaks, Made by Mitchell's achievements also extend beyond its success on TikTok, having recently made its high street debut with Boots, in what Halliday describes as a "pinch-me moment" for the previously online-only business.

Customers can now shop the brand's products online and in 96 Boots stores across the UK, as well as get their hands on a Made by Mitchell Mystery Bag, containing a selection of surprise goodies.

"We’ve always been an online brand, which, don’t get me wrong, has served us extremely well and allowed us to keep our costs low and spread our reach," says Halliday. "Realistically however, makeup is so personal and there’s only so much you can get across about a product through a screen. It was really important to have the customer finally get the experience of seeing and feeling the product in person to help them make a decision on purchasing."

"I think when Boots saw the waves we were making online and on TikTok Shop, a platform a lot of the industry doubted, it was clear we could easily compete against the older household name beauty brands in store.

"Boots’ interest in our brand was a serious pinch-me moment. It really felt like the brand had 'made it', and I can’t wait for all the customers who maybe don’t feel comfortable online shopping for makeup, or don’t use social media to be able to join our community and immerse themselves in Made by Mitchell."

Having experienced rapid growth since its launch, from viral moments on TikTok to retail partnerships with the likes of Beauty Bay and Boots, Halliday and his team have worked hard to scale the business and meet customer demand. "The growth has been insane to say the least. Luckily, I have a passionate team who work tirelessly around the clock," he reveals.

"I think some people subconsciously hold themselves back from opportunities because they don’t think they’re ready or worthy. We’ve always held a "say yes" approach, knowing it will all work itself out if we intend it to. When it occasionally does feel like it might not come together, having trust in yourself and your team, ultimately knowing this is a lesson that will shape us into even more of a powerful brand, is how we overcome any challenge."

So, what's next for Made by Mitchell?

"I've always had a passion for beauty, and growing up I had a goal of one day creating my own beauty business - fast forward to today, I feel incredibly proud to have realised my ambition by creating Made by Mitchell," shares Halliday.

"My aim is to take Made by Mitchell worldwide and to grow both our online and in-store presence. We want to continue innovating and introducing new products that allow people to express their inner selves. By doing this, we hope to establish Made by Mitchell as a leading name in the beauty industry worldwide."