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Ulta Beauty Names Eight Brands for Its 2026 MUSE Accelerator

Ulta Beauty selected eight brands for its 2026 MUSE Accelerator, offering each $50,000 alongside a 10-week retail-readiness programme.

Published: Sep 30, 2026 1:37 PM

By Ifrah Nadeem

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Ulta Beauty Names Eight Brands for Its 2026 MUSE Accelerator

Ulta Beauty selected eight emerging beauty brands for its fifth annual MUSE Accelerator, a 10 week program that began September 14. Each participant will receive $50,000 and retail readiness support, according to the 2026 cohort announcement.

The selected businesses are AWARE Hair, Blue Water Girls, Dos Mundos, MIA Outdoor Hair, Mochiglow, MoKnowsHair, Prados Beauty and Prereq Care. They will work through a curriculum covering branding, supply chain and preparation for merchant pitches.

An additional $10,000 award, offered with the Fifteen Percent Pledge, will go to one participating brand. That brings the announced funding available through this year’s program to $410,000. The accelerator is designed to help founders understand what scaling into retail requires beyond a successful product launch.

Funding sits alongside coaching and operational preparation, including the work needed to present a business to retail buyers. Ulta says the program has supported more than 30 brands since 2022, with over $1.5 million in funding and more than 150 coaching hours.

The immediate opportunity is to strengthen the business and prepare for that retail-ready conversation.

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