TheIndustry.beauty Awards Winners' Interview: Aila Morin, CMO, Merit

In this series, TheIndustry.beauty further celebrates the successes of winning beauty businesses from TheIndustry.beauty Awards 2024 through dedicated interviews.

As the Awards is dedicated to The Innovators of the industry, we were keen to learn from their future-facing successes. From our 13 winners, we find out everything from the importance of innovation to the one beauty product they can’t live without.

Merit won the Best New Product award in the Makeup category. TheIndustry.beauty hears from its CMO Aila Morin.

Merit is known for its minimalist approach to beauty. How does this philosophy guide your product development, and how do you ensure that your offerings resonate with today’s beauty consumers?

We began developing Merit in 2019 and 2020, a time when beauty habits were changing rapidly. Consumers shifted from lengthy routines to shorter ones, relying on curated assortments of products. What sets Merit apart is that it was created by the consumer; we’re not makeup artists, nor do we have a celebrity attached to the brand. We aimed to develop products that addressed gaps in the market, focusing on classic beauty essentials that are easy to use and are clean, allowing you to have everything you need without compromises.

Our minimalist approach was inspired by the desire to simplify getting ready, resulting in products we believe will remain on your vanity for the next decade. We consciously avoid trends, concentrating on items that customers will repeatedly return to. For instance, The Minimalist, launched in 2021, is still one of the top 10 foundations at Sephora, which is quite rare in today's market, where many products fade quickly after launch.

Clean beauty is central to Merit’s brand identity. How do you maintain rigorous standards for ingredient safety and sustainability while delivering high-performance products?

We focus on responsible luxury, which means our products are safe for the body, skin, and planet. Maintaining these standards requires constant attention due to changing regulations. Our products are also vegan, certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny [globally-recognisable gold standard for cosmetics, personal care and household products].

One significant insight I had when exploring clean beauty was that many products relied on oils as a base, which often wasn't suitable for those with acne-prone skin, like myself. So in addition to meeting compliance standards, we prioritise skin health by creating non-acne-triggering products.

From the outset, we collaborated with Biba de Sousa, who previously worked with Katherine [Power, co-founder]. We established a list of 73 ingredients that we avoid adding to our products, including coconut oil, which, although considered clean, can be very acne-inducing.

This focus on ingredient selection is crucial, particularly for our primary audience of millennials and Gen X, although we also cater to Baby Boomers and Gen Z. There’s often an assumption that women older than Gen Z don’t experience breakouts, but that’s not my experience, nor is it true for many others. Therefore, it was vital for us to develop products that address the concerns of maturing skin while also preventing breakouts, as these age groups often face multiple skin issues simultaneously.

The Solo Shadow won Best New Makeup Product at TheIndustry.beauty awards. What do you believe made this product stand out to the judges and consumers alike?

I believe its success stems from a very personal approach to its development. Initially, when I began discussions with Katherine about launching a beauty brand, I struggled to identify a gap in the market. During a shopping trip that Christmas, I saw a holiday display featuring a suitcase containing 150 eyeshadows. With my ten years of experience at a beauty counter, I realised I would probably only use two shades, leaving the other 148 unused—this seemed impractical and catered mainly to professionals.

From the start, we positioned Merit as the antidote to the oversized 50-shade eyeshadow palette. We focused on creating standout hero colours instead of a palette where you hit pan on one shade while discarding the rest. We launched with four neutrals—one for every skin tone—plus four vibrant colours inspired by the '90s. The shade Midnight, a rich navy blue, was a nod to that era, while Social, a soft mauve, has surprisingly become one of our top sellers. We aimed to reimagine these colours in beautiful, natural ways, making them accessible and appealing to a wider audience

Can you share some insights into the development process of the Solo Shadow? What were the key factors you focused on to create a product that combines quality, ease of use, and aesthetic appeal?

It took us seven years to perfect this formula. Developing a long-wear, clean eyeshadow was incredibly challenging, with many iterations. At one point, we almost gave up, but we finally created a cream-to-powder formula that sets, lasts all day, and comes in an airtight component to preserve its quality.

You can apply it with your finger for a light wash or use our brush for more precision. It even doubles as a liner. We wanted it to work for all eyelid types, including mature skin, so we added calendula for its soothing benefits. This product was an engineering feat, and we're proud of it.

What excites us most is how people resonate with it. We're in the beauty industry, and we know how overwhelming it can be. We wanted to create something that felt approachable and truly useful.

How has the feedback from consumers been since the launch of the Solo Shadow? Are there any particular aspects of the product that users have highlighted as their favourite features?

The feedback since launching Solo Shadow has been phenomenal. The week it launched was so exciting, and the product has seen a high repeat purchase rate—people buy it, love it, finish it, and come back for more, which is exactly what we aimed for. It became the number one eyeshadow collection at Sephora in North America, a rare achievement for a clean brand, unseating some long-standing bestsellers.

The launch proved that we can do bold colours, with shades like green, navy, and purple complementing the neutral staples our customers know us for. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, not just for the product but also for how it resonated emotionally with consumers. People appreciated the honesty of our approach, especially when we acknowledged how confusing palettes can be.

Merit has gained popularity in various markets. How do you tailor your marketing and product offerings to meet the unique preferences of consumers in different regions?

At Merit, we love launching through our direct-to-consumer business first because it allows us to engage directly with our community. Expanding into the UK in February 2023 was driven by demand—through DMs and comments, customers told us it was the perfect market. Initially, it didn’t seem intuitive to launch such a young, minimalist brand in the UK, but our community proved that listening to them leads to success.

By analysing the data, we realised that the feeling of being overwhelmed by beauty routines was universal across regions, including the UK, Canada, and the US. Consumers in these markets shared similar patterns, with excitement for the five-minute morning routine and a 40% repeat rate in our first year in the UK. We plan to follow up with retail, as the in-person experience is always valuable.

Our approach focuses on routines rather than relying on a single hero product. Every customer has their essentials, whether it's concealer, mascara, or blush, and by promoting routine-based curation, we cater to personal habits more than geographical differences.

How does Merit balance its minimalist aesthetic with the need for innovation and excitement in your product lineup?

At Merit, we approach innovation by starting with the problem, which is quite unconventional. Take the Solo Shadow, for example. We wanted to avoid the issues palettes often create, like powders settling into fine lines or fallout ruining your makeup. Our goal was to create something that wears beautifully all day, while also being clean.

We always begin with the problem we’re addressing, and from there, we develop our formulas from scratch, fine-tuning every detail. Innovation for us isn’t about creating entirely new textures; it’s about making products that are intuitive, easy to use, and timeless. We focus on refining the details rather than sweeping changes.

We’ve expanded into skincare with two successful products—a serum and now a moisturiser—and we plan to keep developing in a way that avoids saturation. Instead of having multiple variations of the same product, we’re focusing on creating essential items for your vanity. With the pace of our launches, I often tell the team we’ve got about 10 years before we hit overlap.

Ultimately, balancing innovation with minimalism means creating timeless classics slowly and intentionally, without chasing trends. We believe this approach will be key to our long-term success

How does Merit engage with its community to gather feedback and ensure that your products meet their needs? What role does customer input play in shaping your product development and brand strategy?

In three key ways. First, we start with surveys to collect valuable data. Second, we conduct extensive panel tests, involving our team—which includes millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers—as well as friends and our immediate community.

For example, when developing our moisturiser, we sent out 500 lab samples and invited customers on Instagram to sign up for testing. They received the samples along with ingredient lists and provided feedback while we finalised the formula.

Even after launching a product, we prioritise feedback from our customers for reviews, as their opinions are crucial to our development process. Our brand is rooted in community rather than a top-down approach from makeup artists. We genuinely believe in listening to our community and creating products that simplify their beauty routines.

Looking ahead, what are Merit’s key goals and initiatives for the coming years?

We’ve always viewed ourselves as more than just a makeup brand, which may have seemed ambitious before our launch. Our recent introduction of skincare is just the beginning, as we envision expanding into more categories in the future. We aim to enter additional global markets, and our unique approach has already resonated well where we currently operate. Expanding our availability and continuing our global reach are major goals for us in the coming years.

And finally, if you were going on a desert island, what would your products be?

Yeah, this is the hardest question for me, always, by the way. I’m a complexion person, and The Minimalist has truly transformed my relationship with foundation and concealer. I’ve been using it since we started developing it five years ago, and I’ve never wanted to switch.

What I love most is that it doesn’t count towards your liquid limit when travelling, which is underrated. It’s incredibly adaptable; I use it to cover dark circles, and it works perfectly for that. For events, I apply it as full-coverage foundation, and it photographs beautifully. I’m really proud of this product because it achieves exactly what we intended, making my getting-ready routine so much easier.

As for my other essentials, our skincare is phenomenal. The Great Skin Serum gives my skin a beautiful, glass-like finish, making it easier to apply products on top. Our moisturiser has been a labour of love, providing a lovely blurring effect while leaving skin velvety smooth. When I put The Minimalist on top, it applies like butter—it’s a beautiful experience.

TheIndustry.beauty The Innovators Awards, staged in proud partnership with Bleckmann, will be back for 2025. Find out more at the industry.beauty/awards.  For sponsorship enquiries for 2025's awards, please email partnerships@theindustry.beauty.