Takealot is stepping up its ambitions in South Africa’s beauty retail market through an exclusive partnership with US beauty discovery platform Thirteen Lune, bringing a portfolio of international, founder-led beauty brands to local consumers.
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Announced on 28 August 2026, the partnership marks Thirteen Lune’s first international expansion and positions Takealot as its exclusive South African retail partner.
The move strengthens Takealot’s growing beauty proposition across skincare, haircare, cosmetics, wellness and fragrance, with several of the brands set to become available to South African consumers for the first time.
For the online retailer, the partnership is about more than expanding its product catalogue. It forms part of a broader strategy to establish Takealot as a leading beauty destination, using its e-commerce infrastructure to combine international product discovery with convenience and nationwide fulfilment.
“This is far more than the launch of new beauty brands,” says Ryan Ferreira, head of retail at Takealot. “It represents another important step in our ambition to build South Africa’s most trusted beauty destination.”
Bringing global beauty brands to South Africa
Founded in 2020 by beauty entrepreneur Nyakio Grieco, Thirteen Lune has built its reputation around discovering founder-led brands and broadening representation within prestige beauty.
Its expansion into South Africa gives local consumers access to an assortment of internationally recognised brands that have traditionally been difficult to purchase locally.
The initial launch will include cult-favourite brand Relevant Beauty, with the wider partner portfolio set to be announced ahead of launch.
For Takealot, exclusive access to international brands provides a potential point of differentiation in an increasingly competitive online beauty market.
Rather than competing solely on price and convenience, the retailer can use exclusive ranges and new-to-market products to encourage beauty shoppers to discover and purchase through its platform.
From online store to beauty destination
The partnership also reflects the changing role of e-commerce in beauty retail.
Beauty is increasingly driven by discovery, education, recommendations, creators and social content, making the category particularly suited to an online environment where consumers can research products and brands before purchasing.
Takealot says it intends to build on this opportunity through a combination of beauty content, creators and experiences, alongside its digital retail infrastructure.
“Beauty is an incredibly exciting category for Takealot and one where we have significant ambition,” says Karla Levick, chief marketing officer of Takealot Group.
“We want to play a leading role in shaping the future of beauty retail in South Africa – not only by giving customers access to the world's most exciting brands, but by creating a destination where beauty can be discovered and experienced in entirely new ways.”
An opportunity for founder-led beauty
The partnership also brings a strong entrepreneurship angle to Takealot’s beauty strategy.
Thirteen Lune was established around founder-led beauty businesses and diverse brand stories, providing Takealot with an opportunity to introduce South African consumers to brands whose propositions extend beyond conventional mass-market beauty.
For Grieco, the South African launch also has personal significance given her family's roots on the African continent.
“Expanding Thirteen Lune internationally through South Africa is both an exciting business milestone and a deeply personal moment for me,” says Grieco.
“We were looking for more than a retailer – we were looking for a partner whose values aligned with ours.”
The collaboration could ultimately extend beyond importing global brands. Takealot says its longer-term vision includes opportunities to support local beauty entrepreneurship, suggesting a potential two-way ecosystem in which international brands enter South Africa while local businesses gain greater exposure and access to digital retail infrastructure.
A more competitive beauty landscape
The partnership arrives as beauty becomes an increasingly important category within South African e-commerce, with retailers competing for consumers across cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance and wellness.
For Takealot, expanding the premium and luxury segment could help increase the value and frequency of beauty purchases on its platform, while exclusive products provide a reason for consumers to choose the marketplace over more traditional retail channels.
The Thirteen Lune partnership therefore represents a strategic shift from simply selling beauty products online towards building a differentiated beauty retail proposition – one centred on discovery, exclusive brands, convenience, content and eventually physical and experiential touchpoints.
As Takealot continues to develop the category, the success of the strategy will depend on its ability to translate global beauty discovery into a compelling local customer experience, while building a destination that gives consumers reasons to return beyond individual product purchases.
