Cheekbone Beauty

Cheekbone CEO Jenn Harper has never been one to settle for less. Her dream to launch an independent beauty brand was born out of her desire to be one of the greats. “Seeing other small brands reach global presence, I felt there’s no reason this couldn’t be possible for me,” she says. Inspired by the millions of Indigenous people making up five per cent of the global population, Cheekbone Beauty is a brand with a big market and even bigger cause—“to help Indigenous people on the planet see and feel their value in the world,” says Harper. “That’s always been at the centre of my work.”

Launching the brand out of her home in St. Catharines, Ont., Harper admits to initially having very little understanding of the digital space and eCommerce. “Once I learned that tools like Google Trends existed, everything changed,” she says. Identifying some of the top Google searches in the category of beauty determined what some of Cheekbone’s inaugural products would be and aided Harper in the development of her business’ online storefront. “Through the power of Search, Google was a master tool in helping us find the right people to connect with online.”

Born on the internet, Cheekbone Beauty was in many ways prepared for a pandemic economy. As customers caught up to the high speed of eCommerce, Harper utilized Google Trends to keep on track with search and product trends. “With 2020 came a huge boost in online activity, new customers and traffic on the website,” says Harper. “Our community grew by 354 per cent.”

Today, Cheekbone Beauty continues to get a lot of use out of its digital toolbelt—using tools to reach customers the moment they’re looking to discover a new product. The B Corp-certified brand has been able to stay connected to its core customers while also growing omnichannel—now available at Sephora Canada and launching next year at JC Penny stores in the United States.