JohnWallStreet reports that sports sponsorship, long dominated by automotive, telecom, alcohol and banking, has a fast-growing new entrant: beauty. SponsorUnited data cited by the outlet shows the number of beauty brand partnerships in sport — including athlete endorsements — rose from under 3,000 in 2023 to 7,187 in 2025. Bob Lynch, founder and CEO of SponsorUnited, called beauty 'a really big growth category,' noting dollars arriving from brands that were never seen in sports marketing before.

Sponsorship alone may not be enough, per JohnWallStreet, which says rights owners must offer hands-on experiences like product sampling and tutorials — activations it reports were about 25% more common at music festivals than at women's sports events last year. The trend echoes creator sentiment in Glossy's roundtable, where college-age creators said highly scripted beauty deals pushed them toward other categories, and cited Refy's approval-free creator launch that the brand said beat sales forecasts by 200%.

JohnWallStreet expects the next wave of beauty spending to favor properties that can deliver compelling, shareable experiences and measurable gains in awareness, purchase intent and sales. As beauty's momentum builds, WWD reports that Similarweb data shows budget-conscious and personality-led brands dominating direct-to-consumer traffic growth in August, led by L'Oréal Paris at +62% year over year, Huda Beauty at +59% and e.l.f. at +46% — evidence the category's growth spurt spans both marketing channels.