How Merit Built a Cult Following Before It Had a Name with Aila Morin

Aila Morin is the founding Chief Marketing Officer of Merit Beauty, one of the fastest-growing brands in the beauty industry. On this episode of Process, host Arielle Thomas sits down with Aila for a rare, in-depth conversation about brand building, marketing strategy, and product development, from Merit's earliest days as an anonymous Instagram account to its most recent Clean Volume mascara launch. Aila walks through how Merit built a loyal community before the brand even had a name, why the company skipped paid advertising entirely for its first four months, and how a single UX fix increased sales by more than 100%. She also gets candid about product failures, the emotional weight of building something people trust, and why Merit has no interest in using AI in its creative process. This conversation covers founder transparency, marketing strategy, brand building, product development, and the beauty industry from the inside, a masterclass for anyone building a brand, working in marketing, or curious how one of beauty's most consistent companies actually operates day to day. **INSIDE THE EPISODE:** 00:00 — Intro 00:38 — How Merit Came to Be 03:15 — Finding the White Space in Beauty 05:10 — Building a Brand That Doesn't Need the Product 07:17 — Learning to Sell from the Shop Floor 09:46 — The Secret Instagram Account That Became Merit 11:33 — Skipping Paid Ads for Community as a Focus Group 13:12 — Why Great Brands Aren't Built on Virality 16:59 — Reinventing the Foundation Stick 22:13 — Data Over Market Reports: Building Clean Volume 26:11 — The Kaizen Approach to Product Development 29:24 — Story First: How a Launch Actually Gets Built 34:15 — Why Merit Never Starts With the Grid 35:20 — Casting With a Story: Whitney Leavitt & Karen Pittman 38:10 — Self-Doubt Behind the Confidence 40:28 — Owning Polarizing Reviews 42:17 — What Hasn't Worked 44:30 — The Unglamorous Reality of Running Merit 46:22 — Building a Brand That Lasts 100 Years 49:00 — Clean Volume's "See to Believe" Sampling Strategy 50:37 — The Future of Social & Why No AI Creative 52:41 — Arielle's Personal Encounter With Merit 55:36 — Beauty: Shame vs. Belonging **Connect with our Guest:** • Aila Morin on Instagram: @ailamorin • Merit Beauty on Instagram: @merit • Website: meritbeauty.com **Enjoyed this Episode?** **Join our Community!** • Your host, Arielle Thomas, on Instagram,⁠@arielle.thomas⁠: • Us, on Instagram,⁠ @processthepodcast •Whatsapp Community @processthepodcast Follow us to get notified every time a new episode drops every Tuesday. See you at the next one! This episode includes third-party audio used for educational commentary and reference. All rights and ownership belong to their respective copyright holders. This content is utilized under Fair Use principles and does not imply endorsement or affiliation with Process The Podcast. For takedowns or copyright inquiries, please contact hello@cinemathom.com