CEW Cheat Sheet: April 27, 2023

This morning’s headlines are dominated by the data revealed in last night’s first quarter earning calls from companies like Meta and Unilever. The TL;DR is that many companies exceeded expectations with positive growth despite challenges such as inflation and a volatile marketplace. In other news, Sephora rolls out a new recycling initiative in North America that aims to make it easier to responsibly dispose of beauty packaging, while Paper Magazine’s 38-year run comes to an end. Read these stories and more in the links below.

Unilever is Upbeat About 2023 Following 10.5 Percent Uptick in Growth. According to the company’s Q1 earnings report, sales in the Beauty & Wellness category rose to 3.1 billion euros, with Vaseline and Pond’s delivering strong contributions, and the Prestige Beauty and Health & Wellbeing subcategories seeing double-digit growth. (WWD)

Sephora Debuts New Packaging Recycling Program. With a goal of making it easy for customers to properly recycle packaging, Sephora has partnered with Pact Collection to launch the Beauty (Re)Purposed program across 600 stories in the US and Canada. (Retail Info Systems)

Paper Magazine Lays Off Staff, Citing Economic Headwinds. Editorial operations of the music and cultural publisher will cease immediately, with 20 to 30 full-time staff being laid off. (AdWeek)

Boost Lab and TBH Skincare Merge to Form Holding Company York St Brands. The Sydney-based holding company (located on York Street, hence the name) aims to grow both of their product selections, and could buy and incubate more brands in the future. (Beauty Independent)

Meta Says Time Spent on Instagram Grew 24% Thanks to TikTok-style AI Reel Recommendations. On social, it looks like short term video is here to stay based on results reported in Meta’s Q1 quarterly earnings call yesterday. (Tech Crunch)

Why Billie Eilish and Jennifer Lopez Lead the Top 5 Celebrity Fragrances. Despite the backlash against celeb scents, data generated by Glossy and Launchmetrics found that customers are still interested in buying them. (Glossy)

Meta Stock Surges to 14-Month High After Earnings Beat — Even as it Bleeds Billions of Dollars in the Metaverse. Meta shares skyrocketed 10% — it’s highest price since February 2022 — after the company released its Q1 quarterly earnings report yesterday. Forbes breaks down exactly what you need to know. (Forbes)