Branding-obsessed Glossier just raised $52M to bolster its e-commerce experience

Branding is a concern for most companies, but for blog-turned-beauty-giant Glossier, it’s everything.

Glossier’s down-to-earth, effortlessly chic image has attracted a massive following. And with $52 million in Series C funding, the startup plans to enhance its e-commerce experience to grow that following even more.

“This breadth of human connection and celebration of personal choice is core to who we are, and something we want to further facilitate and develop through new digital products — and, indeed, across all of our customer touchpoints,” founder and CEO Emily Weiss said in a statement. “We are building a people-first ecosystem, to help and to inspire."

While Glossier's e-commerce site launched in 2014, the startup's following has been brewing since long before then. Weiss launched beauty blog Into the Gloss out of her apartment in 2010, and the site quickly became a content marketing sensation.

Since then, the company has raised a total of $86.4 million in funding, expanded globally and acquired a tech agency.

Existing investors IVP and Index Ventures led Thursday's round.

According to Glossier's estimates, the global beauty industry is expected to grow from $433 billion to $750 billion by 2024. In a statement issued at the time of the funding, Weiss said Glossier is determined to stand out from other brands in the way it connects with consumers.

"E-commerce has made buying easier and more efficient, but discovery less fun and meaningful,” said Weiss. “Our direct-to-consumer model has enabled us to build uniquely powerful relationships with every single one of our customers on a personal level.”