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In an industry where new beauty brands are launching every day, standing out is no easy feat.
So, how do you build a brand that cuts through the noise, creates genuine desire and grows into a global name?
At our recent event, we welcomed Jenna Meek, CEO and Co-Founder of REFY, to share the story behind one of the UK’s most recognisable modern beauty brands.
Founded in 2020 by Jenna Meek and Jess Hunt, REFY quickly made its mark with Brow Sculpt before growing into an internationally recognised beauty brand. Today, the brand has expanded across the UK, US, Canada, Ireland and the Middle East, with a growing retail presence alongside its direct-to-consumer roots.
During her session, Jenna took us behind the scenes of REFY’s journey from identifying an opportunity in an overcrowded market to building a brand around simplicity, community and products people genuinely want.
Finding a lane in an overcrowded industry
Jenna’s entrepreneurial journey began before REFY.
Her first venture, Gypsy Shrine, focused on festival makeovers and face gems before expanding into areas including eco-friendly hair dye. That experience gave Jenna an understanding of how to create a brand that captured attention and built a community around it.
When REFY came along, Jenna and co-founder Jess Hunt approached the opportunity differently.
Rather than trying to compete with every other beauty brand, they asked a simple question: how could REFY create its own space? “In an industry that’s so busy, so overcrowded, we thought if everyone is over here, what have we got to do to be in our own lane?”
For Jenna, the answer was to go back to the basics: “I think that ultimately is what’s created the success REFY is today.”
That meant getting three fundamental areas right from the beginning: brand foundations, product and community.
1. Build a brand people recognise
The first priority was establishing exactly what REFY stood for.
Jenna explained that the team spent time understanding who they were as a brand, what they wanted to look like and feel like, and what they wanted to stand for.
That clarity became particularly important in an industry already saturated with products, trends and competing messages.
REFY’s response was to make simplicity part of its identity. “We said, well, let’s be the brand to simplify that. Let’s be known to simplify beauty.”
That mission became more than just a marketing message. It became a guiding principle for the brand and something the team continues to focus on every day.
The team also worked to create a distinct world around REFY.
Rather than making every piece of marketing about a particular product, lifestyle campaigns were used to make the brand itself desirable.
As Jenna explained, the goal was to create a brand that people wanted to buy into before they even knew which product they wanted to buy.
2. Only create products people genuinely want
The second part of REFY’s approach was product.
In a market where brands can quickly launch new products in response to the latest trend, REFY took a more considered approach.
The question wasn't simply what can we launch?
It was: “What product does the world need, does it already exist and should we bring it to market?”
That mindset has helped REFY maintain a clear connection between its brand positioning and the products it introduces.
For Jenna and the team, launching for the sake of launching isn't enough. A new product needs to have a genuine reason to exist and, importantly: “Only launch if people genuinely want it.”
It's a simple principle, but one that reflects REFY's wider approach: understand the consumer, identify the opportunity and then create something that solves a real need.
3. Make the community part of the brand
The third foundation was community.
From the beginning, Jenna and Jess wanted REFY to feel inclusive and make people feel involved in the brand.
Jess Hunt, one of the UK’s most influential creators, was always going to be central to the brand’s campaigns. But REFY’s approach went beyond simply putting a well-known face at the centre of its marketing.
Instead, the team wanted to make the wider community feel represented.“We had no models, just real people in our campaigns.”
That decision helped create a sense of recognition among customers.
People could see themselves in the campaigns and, as Jenna explained, the reaction was often simply: “I look like that person.”
That feeling of involvement has remained an important part of REFY as the business has grown.
The community isn't something that sits separately from the business. Jenna explained that it feeds into every element of what REFY does, from campaigns and content through to product decisions.
That leads to one of Jenna’s most interesting observations about her role: “I’m not making decisions as the CEO, the customer is.”
It's a powerful way of thinking about customer-centricity. Rather than assuming the business knows what its audience wants, REFY keeps the customer at the centre of its decision-making.
Growing quickly, but expanding slowly
REFY’s growth has been anything but ordinary.
The brand experienced what Jenna described as “insane fast growth”, but the approach to expansion has been deliberately measured.
As REFY moved into Europe, the US and Asia, the focus was on entering new markets at the right time and making sure the foundations were in place before scaling further.
That balance, rapid growth combined with deliberate decision-making, has been central to REFY’s expansion strategy.
The approach was particularly clear in the UK.
Jenna described the strategy as straightforward: win Selfridges and stay D2C.
That focus helped REFY build a strong relationship with consumers directly while establishing a significant presence within one of the UK's leading department stores.
Today, REFY has one of its biggest spaces in Selfridges London and regularly ranks among its top three brands on a weekly basis.
The brand has also continued to broaden its retail footprint, launching into Space NK and Sephora, further extending its reach while maintaining the identity it built through D2C.
The lessons behind the REFY story
While REFY’s journey is unique, Jenna’s approach highlights several principles that can apply to brands far beyond beauty.
Know who you are.
In a crowded market, having a clear identity can be more valuable than trying to compete on every front.
Simplify.
When consumers are overwhelmed by choice, making things easier can become a powerful point of differentiation.
Create products with a purpose.
A new launch should solve a genuine need rather than simply add another product to an already crowded category.
Build with your community, not just for them.
REFY’s customers have been part of the brand’s journey from the beginning, helping shape how the brand communicates and evolves.
Don't confuse fast growth with moving quickly on everything.
REFY has grown at pace, but Jenna’s story shows that international expansion and major strategic decisions can still be approached carefully and deliberately.
Ultimately, the REFY story isn't simply about launching a successful beauty product. It's about creating a clear point of view in a crowded market, and staying close to the customer as the business grows.
From going back to the basics to building a world people want to be part of, REFY has built its growth around a deceptively simple idea: know what you stand for, understand what your customer wants, and stay in your own lane.
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