Direct Beauty generate £4 million sales on Temu

More than a decade ago, best friends Dean Clarke and Jay Halai started selling fragrances from a family home in London, working out of a loft, then the downstairs area, then expanding to a shed. The childhood friends built Direct Beauty, selling fragrances from brands such as Hugo Boss, Joop and Versace on e-commerce marketplaces.

Over the years, they gained a steady presence and a loyal following. Eventually, the duo moved into a 500 sq ft commercial warehouse in 2022. But by 2023, sales had flatlined and the business felt like it had hit a ceiling with stalled growth.

In July 2025, they joined Temu’s Local Seller Program, which connects domestic sellers with customers across the platform. Within months, the business had outgrown its warehouse and tripled its staff, and Dean was back on the floor packing orders to keep up.

Dean and Jay have known each other since they were 11, attending the same school, same college, and even beginning their first jobs at the same workplace. They started their first business together in 2011 selling shoes and pivoted to fragrances in 2014. It literally started with one box of stock.

By the time Temu’s business development team reached out in July 2025, the partners had spent years building supplier relationships, an extensive product range, and the know-how to move fast when the right opportunity came. Dean and Jay knew that Direct Beauty could do more if they reached new customers.

Temu’s marketplace, with over 13 million users in the UK, opened the door. Most sellers typically start out by listing a handful of bestsellers on new platforms and add more products progressively. But the duo saw an opening in Temu’s fragrance category, which was still in its early stages.

They decided to list over 6,000 products on their shopfront in the first week. That move paid off. Direct Beauty is now the top local warehouse seller for fragrance on Temu’s UK site. Business picked up as soon as their Temu listings went live. Within four months, order volume grew ten times over, said Clarke.

To handle the demand, he spent months packing orders alongside his staff while the company hired and restructured. It changed the whole trajectory of our business. How we work, how we process orders. It’s two different companies after Temu.

– Dean Clarke, Direct Beauty Before joining Temu, Direct Beauty had a team of four, including Jay’s father, Vinod, and one employee, working out of a 500 sq ft warehouse. It now operates out of a 1,000 sq ft space with a team of 12, and the company is currently looking to double its warehouse space.

In the months since, the business has generated around £4 million in total sales on Temu, said its founders. It had taken them years to build that same level elsewhere. Direct Beauty sells across several online marketplaces, and Temu has become a significant part of the mix. What Clarke values most about Temu is the hands-on support.

With the platform, Direct Beauty has a dedicated account manager, weekly meetings, and a WhatsApp group for operational issues. When problems come up, Clarke said they are usually resolved quickly through a direct message or a call. We needed a partner, not a system. With Temu, there is a real person I can message to sort things out.

– Dean Clarke, Direct Beauty Temu also gives sellers tools to promote their products and reach a wider audience on the platform. That frees up Direct Beauty to focus on its products and customers. The growth has given Dean and Jay the confidence to plan bigger, and they want to double revenue by the end of the year.

Direct Beauty is now sourcing new products specifically for Temu and expanding its range to match demand. It is also looking at selling to customers across the European Union via the platform, which serves over 90 markets, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands. We already have the infrastructure, and we trust Temu to help us navigate the logistics.

It’s the best decision we made in 14 years. Embrace something new, and it can truly change your business. – Dean Clarke, Direct Beauty