Ulta Beauty President Dave Kimbell on the coming 'renaissance in beauty'

The pandemic has made Ulta Beauty's most progressive goals tougher to reach, but the beauty retailer's president, Dave Kimbell, doesn't want to put them on hold.

"Increasingly, guests of all ages and all types are making choices based on their values," Kimbell said on this week's episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast.

This is coming to life most dynamically in Ulta's Conscious Beauty platform, which debuts fully in October and focuses on "five pillars:" "clean ingredients, cruelty-free, vegan, sustainable packaging and positive impact," Kimbell said.

Sustainable packaging is the one Ulta Beauty (and the industry as a whole, according to Kimbell) can flex on most. "We probably have the most runway ahead of us to drive greater change and have a more positive impact as it relates to packaging," Kimbell said. Last month. Ulta announced that by 2025, half of its in-store packaging will be either recycled, bio-sourced, recyclable or refillable.

As for economic headwinds, Kimbell is optimistic that beauty will enjoy a rebound after the end of the pandemic.

"There will be in some ways I think a new renaissance in beauty, a new resurgence in beauty," Kimbell said.