- TikTok stars Katie Fang (20) and Aliya Rachinski (18) have taken equity stakes in skin care brand ESW Beauty, becoming its first-ever "creator equity partners."
- Deal terms were not disclosed. ESW's 2025 revenue topped $11 million, with 2026 sales projected to surpass $20 million.
- This marks the first brand investment for both influencers, who are typically hired for paid endorsement campaigns rather than equity stakes.
- ESW Beauty sells in more than 19,000 doors, including Whole Foods, Target, Walgreens and Urban Outfitters.
TikTok beauty influencers Katie Fang and Aliya Rachinski have taken equity stakes in skin care brand ESW Beauty, becoming the company’s first “creator equity partners.” The deal marks the first time either creator has invested in a brand, rather than simply being paid to promote one.
Fang, 20, and Rachinski, 18, each command millions of followers and rank among the breakout beauty influencers of their generation. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. ESW’s revenue topped $11 million in 2025, and the seven-year-old brand is projected to surpass $20 million in sales this year.
“Katie and Aliya represent the audiences ESW Beauty was founded to serve,” said ESW chief executive Elina Sofia Wang, who co-founded the brand in 2019 with chief operating officer John Hu. Wang said the pair will contribute consumer insights, product feedback, and campaign strategy going forward.
“Partnering with ESW was an easy decision because our values align so well,” Rachinski said in a statement.
ESW is best known for its roughly $5 sheet masks and eye patches, and has since expanded into lip treatments and, this spring, facial mists. Its products sell in more than 19,000 doors, including Whole Foods, Target, Walgreens and Urban Outfitters.
The brand has previously turned up in celebrity hands: Kourtney Kardashian and Alabama Barker both featured ESW’s lip treatments and eye patches during a Twitch livestream.
For Fang, the ESW stake follows a run of paid partnerships rather than ownership deals. She fronted Cetaphil’s first influencer-led campaign in 2024, has an ongoing relationship with Glow Recipe, and struck a deal with Target that began this year. She was also tapped for TikTok’s Cannes Lions creator delegation last month.
Rachinski’s investment marks a notable step up in scale for the 18-year-old, whose prior brand activity has largely centered on content partnerships.
The move fits a broader shift already playing out across the influencer economy, as stars increasingly want ownership rather than just a paycheck. This echoes recent deals like Alix Earle and Sydney Sweeney’s investment in shopping app Phia, and Shay Mitchell and Aryna Sabalenka’s stakes in fashion app OneOff.
Takeaways
This isn’t just another influencer brand deal, it’s a signal that ESW Beauty is betting its next growth phase on creators who already have skin in the game, literally and financially.
For Fang and Rachinski, trading a flat endorsement fee for equity is a wager that ESW’s momentum (and their own audiences) will keep compounding. It’s also a reminder that “creator economy” is increasingly becoming “creator cap table.”
Does giving influencers equity actually produce better marketing than a traditional paid campaign? As Gen-Z creators trade fees for ownership, will more indie beauty brands start treating influencers as strategic investors rather than just talent?
