When Rachael Wilde and her team launched tbh skincare in 2020, they tapped into a sweet spot: an affordable, playful acne brand that spoke directly to Gen Z’s ‘spotty hotties’. Within its first two years, the brand had sold over 100,000 units and become a cult favourite at Priceline, Chemist Warehouse and Adore Beauty. But as Wilde prepared to scale the brand globally, a trademark obstacle forced a radical pivot.
“We hit a wall with our original trademark,” Wilde explains. “We could have kept different names in different regions, but that felt messy. We decided to bite the bullet and do a full, global rebrand now.”
The solution was the breakout hack, a name born from TikTok polling, consumer focus groups, and market testing across Australia, the UK and US. Updating packaging and stock cost the business around $500,000, but for Wilde, it was a strategic investment.
“Rebranding is terrifying. It’s time-consuming and expensive. But our research showed 36% of customers were more likely to buy from us under the breakout hack, and in the UK and US, purchase intent was even higher,” she says.
The rebrand rolled out in Australia in August and will debut in the UK this September through a major retail partnership Wilde describes as a ‘dream’ distribution deal. With the new trademark cleared in the US, Wilde says the brand is now positioned for one of the world’s biggest acne markets — worth an estimated USD $4.5 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
“The heart of the brand hasn’t changed — the formulas, the fun tone of voice, the people behind it all remain the same. But now we’ve got a globally consistent identity that sets us up for long-term growth.”
If the rebrand proved Wilde’s appetite for calculated risk, her next move with Bouf Haircare showed how far she’s willing to push the beauty industry forward.
Launched in May 2025, reported by Retail Beauty, Bouf is backed by patented FGF5 hair-growth technology designed to target thinning hair and shedding linked to postpartum, menopause and stress. Priced between $29.95 and $39.95, the five-piece range landed at Priceline, Atomica, and Farmers in New Zealand — and quickly became one of the fastest-growing entries in the haircare category.
In just 20 days, Bouf sold 20,000 hair tonics, generated over $1 million in online sales, and is on track to reach between $8–10 million in its first year of trading. For context, Australia’s haircare market is forecast to grow 5.4% annually, hitting AUD $1.67 billion by 2027 (Statista), placing Bouf’s projected revenue firmly in the high-growth bracket.
The brand’s launch was supercharged by an unprecedented influencer move. Mega-influencer Indy Clinton — with more than 1.3 million TikTok followers — was initially signed as an ambassador but ripped up her contract before launch, pitching Wilde for equity instead.
“She tested Bouf for five months before agreeing to share it with her audience,” Wilde reveals. “The trust was instant. Bringing her on as a shareholder was the obvious next step.”
For Clinton, who has openly shared her struggles with postpartum hair loss, the partnership was as personal as it was professional. “I wanted to immerse myself in the brand — not just post about it,” she says. “Being part of the team, contributing to decisions, it was so rewarding. It reminded me I can thrive as both a mum and a professional.”
Equity influencer deals remain rare in Australia, but parallels can be drawn to US mega-influencer Alix Earle, who invested in beverage brands she once promoted. For Wilde, it’s a blueprint for the future: “We’re proving that when you give influencers skin in the game, the brand connection is deeper, the marketing is more authentic, and the results speak for themselves.”
While most entrepreneurs might have paused to catch their breath, Wilde has kept the momentum rolling — literally. A year after her ‘Gen Z Boss in a Mini’ TikTok moment went viral, she signed a full-scale partnership with Sydney Mini Garage.
The collab centres on a custom sparkly pink Mini Cooper emblazoned with the breakout hack branding. The car will feature in content across multiple 2025 launches, with Wilde and her team using it to deliver PR packages, visit customers, and tease upcoming drops with hidden ‘clues’ on the vehicle itself.
The partnership will culminate in a high-impact in-store activation at Sydney Mini Garage in Rushcutters Bay this September — a move Mini believes epitomises the brand’s ethos.
“Just like Mini, the breakout hack is all about bold ideas, big energy and creativity,” says Sydney Mini Garage Marketing Manager David Giammetta. “It’s inspiring to see what happens when passionate teams come together.”
For Mini, the partnership also taps into a younger demographic of drivers. The Mini brand currently enjoys strong awareness among millennials but has been actively seeking ways to connect with Gen Z, a generation that research shows will make up 40% of new-car buyers by 2030.
From global rebrands to influencer equity stakes and sparkly pink cars, Rachael Wilde is challenging the conventions of how beauty brands are built, marketed and scaled. York Street Brands — parent company to the breakout hack and Bouf — is on track to generate more than $20 million in combined revenue in 2025, cementing its position as one of Australia’s fastest-growing independent beauty houses.
“People always say we’re ripping up the industry playbook,” Wilde reflects. “And maybe we are. But what we’re really doing is writing a new one — one that’s authentic to us, to our customers, and to the way Gen Z wants to engage with brands.”
With the breakout hack expanding globally, Bouf booming with equity-driven influencer strategy, and a pink Mini cruising through Sydney, Wilde’s road ahead is anything but ordinary. And that’s exactly the point.
Read the WINTER ’25 issue of Retail Beauty below:
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