Caboodles Re-brands, Partners With Simone Biles

The brand behind the cult-favorite beauty box of the Eighties and Nineties is getting a makeover.

Caboodles, the accessories brand best known for its colorful boxes used to organize beauty products and jewelry, is undergoing a re-brand to give the 30-year-old label a refresh. In addition to updating the original boxes with new colors and designs, the re-brand consists of two main collection expansions, one called Life & Style and the other called Active by Simone Biles.

“I grew up with the brand and my parents used to give me cases for everything,” said the Olympic gymnast, who is also a brand ambassador. “It’s been able to come full circle to work with them as an adult while I still use Caboodles.”

Biles worked closely with the brand to create a collection of accessories made for women with active lifestyles. Designed in black with purple accents, which is Biles’ favorite color, the collection includes seven bags meant to organize and store beauty products, jewelry and other items in a convenient and portable way. For example, the collection includes an MVP Beauty Pack, which is a backpack that features padded compartments with room for the original Caboodles box, and a Sport Cosmetic Bag, which includes a brush organizer and multiple compartments for products. The collection ranges in price from $22 to $110.

“The collaboration is unique from others because most of the time [other brands] design and put your name on it,” Biles continued. “With this, I was hands-on with the colors and the design and what I wanted on the inside.”

The motivation for the re-brand came from the recent resurgence of interest in the brand among Millennial and Generation Z consumers. With an obsession for nostalgia, younger consumers have been seeking out the original Caboodles boxes they had as kids, leading to fast-fashion retailers like Urban Outfitters, Forever 21 and Riley Rose quickly onboarding the brand in the last year.

“People have an emotional reaction to the brand,” said Khadeja Salley, director of marketing and brand management at Caboodles. “I think the reason why women have a positive reaction to the brand is because it’s reminiscent of a great time in their lives, like slumber parties, and now moms are giving [the accessories] to their daughters.”

While the brand has recently increased its distribution with the fast-fashion retailers, the goal of the re-brand is to continue expanding its footprint with online retailers and department stores to reach new customers. Caboodles accessories are currently found at retailers like Ulta Beauty, Target, J.C. Penney’s and Walmart, among others.

Life & Style, the other collection expansion part of the re-brand, is meant to offer a more premium line with vegan leather goods that still feature the organizational details Caboodles is known for. The collection offers bags, like a crossbody clutch, travel tote and train case, as well as organizational accessories, like a jewelry and cosmetic organizer and makeup bags. Prices range from $25 to $150.

“It’s important to point out that we’ve always been about organization and that is our expertise,” Salley continued. “It’s not just a tagline, but it’s also the design directive we use to create everything we’re working on.”

For distribution, Caboodles is looking at its business in three product segments: the original boxes, soft goods and train cases. For the original boxes, Caboodles is focusing on expanding distribution with fast-fashion retailers and department stores and targeting athletic and sporting goods retailers for the Active by Simone Biles collection. The brand will continue pushing its train cases at department stores and mid-tier retailers. With the re-brand, Caboodles estimates double-digit sales growth in the next 12 months.

Caboodles will be promoting the re-brand with an increased focus on social media by working with influencers and with Biles, who will be participating in in-store appearances.

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