What Nike’s Product Strategy Can Teach Professional Beauty Brands

A brand can have hundreds of products, but sometimes one product—or one category—is responsible for creating excitement around everything else it sells.

That’s the challenge Nike is currently facing. According to The Business of Fashion, Nike has historically relied on culturally significant products, particularly Jordan Brand retros, to create a broader “halo” around the company. With Jordan Brand sales down in the mid-teens and Nike reducing its retro business, the company is looking elsewhere for its next source of momentum. 10-07-26 Where Can Nike Find It…

For professional beauty brands and distributors, product strategy presents a similar opportunity. Rather than expecting every SKU to generate equal excitement, brands can identify the products, categories and cultural moments capable of attracting new customers—and then use that attention to strengthen the larger portfolio.

Product Strategy Starts With Finding Your Halo

Nike has several potential growth areas, but none has emerged as the obvious answer yet.

Women’s basketball is one possibility. Nike's women's basketball business grew 500% over its last four fiscal years, while Caitlin Clark's first signature shoe launched across 5,000 retailers and was nearly sold out. 10-07-26 Where Can Nike Find It…

Running is another bright spot, with first-quarter sales increasing by double digits. Recovery products are also gaining traction as consumers spend more on wellness and fitness. A July survey cited by BoF found that 31% of respondents purchased recovery products monthly, spending an average of $107. 10-07-26 Where Can Nike Find It…

Professional beauty brands can ask the same question: Which product has the potential to create a halo for the rest of our assortment?

It might be a viral styling product, breakthrough treatment, signature fragrance or hero shampoo. Once identified, that product can become an entry point into the larger brand through ecommerce recommendations, email and SMS flows, salon education, sampling and distributor marketing.

Consumer Attention Is More Fragmented

Finding that hero is becoming harder because consumer tastes aren't as concentrated as they once were.

BoF points to fragmentation in the sneaker market, where there is no longer a clear consensus around a single must-have shoe or brand. Consumer interest has spread across more products and players. 10-07-26 Where Can Nike Find It…

Beauty marketers face a similar digital environment. Consumers can discover products through stylists, creators, TikTok, retailer websites, Google, AI search and online communities. Instead of relying on one mass-market message, brands may need multiple entry points tailored to specific beauty needs and audiences.

That makes customer data, ecommerce behavior and search trends increasingly useful. Brands can monitor which products generate first purchases, which categories attract new audiences and which products lead customers deeper into the assortment.

Cultural Relevance Needs Product Substance

Nike's history also illustrates the potential impact of creative partnerships. Virgil Abloh's limited “The Ten” collection helped generate attention that extended beyond individual shoes and into Nike's wider portfolio. 10-07-26 Where Can Nike Find It…

But cultural relevance alone isn't enough. BoF also highlights Vans designer Greg Betty, whose work positively influenced the brand's cultural standing even as Vans' overall revenue remained down between 8% and 9% in its fiscal first quarter. 10-07-26 Where Can Nike Find It…

For beauty, that distinction matters. Influencer partnerships, celebrity collaborations and viral campaigns can create awareness, but brands still need strong products, distribution and ecommerce experiences to turn attention into sustainable growth.

Experiments Worth Discussing

Professional beauty teams could identify the top products driving new-customer acquisition and compare them with products driving repeat purchases. Brands could also build campaigns around one emerging category, then use bundles, personalized recommendations and automated email flows to introduce those shoppers to adjacent products.

Distributors have an additional opportunity: analyzing purchasing behavior across brands to identify categories gaining momentum before they become obvious trends.

Top 5 Takeaways

1. Not every product needs to be the hero. Identify the products capable of creating attention for the wider portfolio.
2. Follow momentum early. Emerging categories can reveal where consumer demand is moving.
3. Consumer interests are increasingly fragmented. Beauty brands need multiple discovery paths across search, social, ecommerce and professional channels.
4. Creative partnerships can create cultural relevance, but awareness needs a strong commercial strategy behind it.
5. Turn hero-product attention into portfolio growth. Use ecommerce merchandising, CRM, education and distributor marketing to introduce customers to what comes next.

Read more about "Where Can Nike Find Its Next Halo?" on Business of Fashion