The Beacon Awards are back to shine a light on over 130 notable nominees across 31 beauty, wellness and personal care award categories.

Now in its seventh year, Beauty Independent’s award program recognizes the people and organizations setting new standards for creativity, innovation and impact in an often tumultuous market. Carefully chosen by the publication’s editorial team through a year-long process, the nominees represent the brightest players and most noteworthy initiatives in beauty and wellness today. 

This year’s program is supported by Allure Beauty Concepts, Alix Partners, Centerview Partners, Merit Manufacturing and International Products Group (IPG) and iLabs. It features a broad cohort of contending brands, retailers, entrepreneurs, executives and investors spanning categories honoring everything from formulation breakthroughs and new brand launches to investment milestones, sustainability efforts and exceptional storytelling.

In the Entrepreneur category, nominees include Puneet Nanda, founder of Guru Nanda; Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton, founder of Chillhouse; Tisha Thompson, founder of LYS Beauty; Bryan Edwards, co-founder of Snif; Marc A. Ronert, co-founder of Image Skincare; and Sarah Gibson Tuttle, founder and CEO of Olive & June.

The Industry Icon honorees have each made an indelible impact on our industry through decades of leadership and innovation. They include Mario Dedivanovic, founder of Makeup by Mario, Kat Burki, founder of Kat Burki; Jane Wurwand, founder of Dermalogica; Colette Courtion, founder of Joylux; Jerrod Blandino, co-founder of Polite Society and Too Faced Cosmetics; and Creme Collective founder Leilah Mundt.

Executives successfully stewarding brand growth and development are celebrated in the Brand Builder category. The 2026 nominees include Odele CEO Zach Rieken, RoC Skincare CEO Fernando Acosta, Revance CMO Adelle Walker, Beacon Wellness Brands CEO Maria Warrington and Ritual Chief Impact Officer Lindsay Dahl. The Best Brand category might prove to be the stiffest competition of all, with Crown Affair, Jolie, Makeup By Mario, Odele, Rhode and The Nue Co. nominated for their achievements, staying power and consumer resonance.

Beyond those categories, the 2026 Beacon Awards program fetes standout brands making their mark. Dojo Air, Omi and BITE brand Sweet Bee Organics are honored for their wellness breakthroughs, while newcomers like Joonbyrd, Sweet Chemistry and Filament earned nominations for their splashy yet strategic launches this year.

Sleep or Die, Köppen and 2023 Beacon Award winner Tronque are among the nominees in this year’s product launch categories. Maya Chia, Laundry Sauce and Fugazzi are nominated in the product innovation and fragrance categories.

The 2026 nominations also spotlight dealmaking and dealmakers. Seed + Small Growth Investor nominees include Align VC, BOLD, Cavu Consumer, Era VC and True Beauty Ventures. Growth Investor nods go to Humble Growth, Melitas Ventures, Prelude Growth, Sandbridge Capital and Stride Consumer.

Indie Deal contenders include Biologica, BITE brand Everist and Fara Homidi, and the nominees for Growth/Late Stage Deal, a new category added this year, are Crown Affair, KilgourMD, Phlur and Salt & Stone. In the retail realm, the Brand Booster, Audience Educator, Assortment Innovator and Service Maven categories honor Sally Beauty, Olive Young, Violet Grey and Velour Medical, respectively.

Beacon Awards winners are selected by expert evaluators with deep beauty and wellness industry experience. This year’s expert evaluators include Suveen Sahib, founder of K18; Oshiya Savur, CMO of E.l.f. Beauty; Tai Beauchamp, co-founder of Brown Girl Jane; Kecia Steelman, CEO of Ulta Beauty; Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter; David Chung, founder of iLabs and 2025 Industry Icon winner; Tish Poling, president and co-founder of IPG; and Wende Zomnir, founder of Caliray and 2022 Beacon Awards Industry Icon winner.

Winners will be announced in a digital ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 1 p.m. EST. Program participants and past winners will celebrate the Beacon Awards community at an invitation-only cocktail event ahead of the digital ceremony in New York City on Sept. 23, the night before Beauty Independent’s BITE show. For more on the Beacon Awards, click here.