The one metric almost nobody is tracking, and off-price is quietly compounding, is this:
How often does the right shopper see your brand, in the right aisle, next to the right neighbors?
Call it shelf adjacency. In Q4, it might be one of the most important growth KPIs.
If you want proof, walk a TJ Maxx or Marshalls beauty aisle right now and look for Glow Recipe. Viral Dew Drops, watermelon kits, hydration everything, all sitting in off-price beauty bays that shoppers treat like a treasure hunt.
They didn’t get there by accident.
From TikTok dew to “everywhere” visibility
Before we talk adjacency, it’s worth zooming out on how hard Glow Recipe has already won the attention game:
TikTok virality: When Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops and the Watermelon Glow Pore-Tight Toner took off on TikTok, Glow Recipe saw a +600% spike in daily sales, with site revenue exceeding their previous Black Friday period. (TikTok For Business)
Category authority: Dew Drops has previously held the No. 1 slot among serums at Sephora and continues to anchor Glow Recipe’s lineup of fruit-powered, “Clean at Sephora” skincare.
Ongoing innovation: New launches like Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Hue Drops are still winning awards, it just took a 2025 Allure Readers’ Choice Breakthrough Award for blending bronzing tint with skincare benefits. Allure
Primary distribution is still premium- Sephora is still the major U.S. stockist.
But on the consumer side, something else is happening:
TikTok “shop with me at TJ Maxx” videos are now showing Glow Recipe sets and minis turning up in TJ Maxx and Marshalls, often at meaningful discounts, alongside other prestige names.
Whatever the exact route those units took to the floor (closeouts, value sets, distributor deals) — the shopper doesn’t care. What they see is:
“This viral, Sephora-famous, K-beauty-inspired brand is here, on this shelf, with these neighbors, at a price I can say yes to.”
That’s shelf adjacency working in real time.
Off-price beauty has leveled up, and adjacency is the tell
TJX (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc.) has quietly turned beauty into a strategic growth engine, expanding fixtures and curating more recognizable brands. Glossy’s reporting has called TJX a rising “beauty retail heavyweight,” with beauty space up and product mix skewing more premium over the last few years.
Layer on two macro shifts:
K-beauty goes mainstream: The U.S. K-beauty market hit $2B by mid-2025, up 37% YoY, driven by “glass skin,” hydration, and gentle actives, trends Glow Recipe rides perfectly.
K-beauty in off-price: Consumer content on TikTok and YouTube is now specifically about hunting Korean skincare at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, Cosrx, Round Lab, Beauty of Joseon, and more. (Lemon8)
So when a shopper rounds the corner and sees:
Glow Recipe’s watermelon-pink glass
Next to other hydration, K-beauty, or TikTok-made-me-buy-it brands
On a feature table or eye-level bay in TJ Maxx
…they’re not just seeing “discounted product.” They’re seeing a cluster of culturally relevant brands sharing space.
That cluster is the asset.
What “shelf adjacency” actually means
Most founders think in terms of doors and units:
“We’re in 200+ stores.”
“We moved through 70% of the first PO in 45 days.”
Useful, but incomplete.
Shelf adjacency asks a different set of questions:
Who are you next to?
Are you wedged between unknowns, or sitting alongside the brands your investors name-drop in board meetings?
What story does that section tell?
Is your product part of a “hydration heroes” story, a “Gen-Z skincare” bay, a seasonal gift tower?
What’s the quality of each impression?
Did someone glance past you on the bottom shelf, or handle your product while comparing it to a brand they already trust?
Glow Recipe’s win is that their adjacency stack is consistent across channels:
On TikTok, they’re associated with GRWM creators, “clean girl” routines, and other high-engagement skincare.
In Sephora, they’re adjacent to Drunk Elephant, Summer Fridays, Laneige, a who’s-who of modern skincare.
In TJ Maxx/Marshalls, they’re now popping up next to other TikTok-famous and K-beauty-adjacent brands in a section shoppers already treat like a discovery playground.
Different channels. Same vibes. That’s intentional or, at minimum, extremely good luck reinforced by brand and packaging decisions.
Why visibility is a key early KPI in off-price
When founders think “off-price,” they default to:
“What margin do we make per unit?”
“Will this hurt our Sephora / Ulta relationship?”
“Will we look like we’re on clearance?”
All real questions. But in early placements, especially in Q4, a different KPI might matter more:
High-quality impressions with the right adjacency, at a lower CAC than digital.
Here’s why:
TJX beauty is high-traffic, high-intent: Beauty bays are destination sections, not random back corners. Shoppers are there to discover and are primed to pick up new brands. (Glossy)
Discovery is already subsidized: You’re not paying for retail media, programmatic banners, or influencers here. The “program” is the aisle.
Adjacency compounds your online proof: That moment when a shopper says, “Oh, I saw this on TikTok” as they spot Glow Recipe on a TJ Maxx table, that is TikTok CAC and TJX adjacency working together.
So while you absolutely still track sell-through and margin, your early-stage off-price KPI could be reframed as:
“How many right-fit shoppers saw my brand this month in a shelf context that strengthens, not weakens, my story?”
Glow Recipe can justify that because:
Their TikTok and Sephora performance already proved demand.
Their packaging is instantly recognizable from six feet away.
Their off-price adjacency reinforces the same hydration/glow narrative, not a bargain-bin story.
Most brands aren’t Glow Recipe, but the principle holds.
What founders can steal from Glow Recipe’s adjacency play
You can’t copy their exact path, but you can copy the mechanics that make their adjacency so powerful.
1. Outcome > ingredient (even in off-price)
In every channel, Glow Recipe leads with outcomes:
Glow
Watermelon hydration
Dew, radiance, “glass skin”
Ingredients (niacinamide, PHA/BHA, hyaluronic acid) are supporting cast. (Sephora)
On a chaotic TJ Maxx shelf, that matters. Shoppers scan a wall of labels and grab whatever they can understand in three seconds.
For your brand, lead with “{benefit callout} set/kit/reset,” not just ingredients. Also, make sure a stranger can describe your benefit in one line after glancing at the front panel.
2. Consistent visual memory across channels
Glow Recipe’s watermelon line is a masterclass in visual consistency:
Pink glass, fruit language, soft rounded shapes.
Same cues from TikTok videos to Sephora gondolas to off-price endcaps.
By the time that shopper sees a Dewy Skin kit at TJ Maxx, they’ve already seen it on:
A TikTok GRWM
A “Sephora haul” Reel
A friend’s bathroom shelf
Off-price just becomes one more reinforcing touchpoint.
For your brand:
Decide on one or two core visual codes (color, shape, motif) that follow your product from DTC to retail.
Make your value packs and off-price formats look like “more of the same,” not like a totally different, cheaper brand.
3. Value packs that feel like a routine, not leftovers
Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow Dewy Skin Routine set is a tight routine-in-a-box: toner, moisturizer, Dew Drops, plus sometimes a mask or sheet treatment.
It does three things on shelf:
Raises perceived value (“I’m buying a routine, not a random product.”)
Encourages trial across multiple SKUs.
Makes off-price feel like a smart upgrade, not a compromise.
In off-price, you want the same:
Bundles that tell a simple story (“Sleep Routine,” “Redness Reset,” “Travel Hydration Kit”).
Packs that protect your hero SKUs (hero + supporting products, not just dumping the slow movers).
Configurations aligned with known price bands in your category, so your $12.99–$16.99 looks like a deal and a treat.
A simple framework: designing adjacency as a KPI
If you’re considering off-price, here’s a four-question check we run with brands:
Neighbor Fit
Who do you want to sit next to in TJX/Ross/Bealls?
Can you name 3–5 brands where that adjacency would raise your perceived value, not put you in the wrong crowd?
Section Story
What would the sign above your bay say, “Hydration Heroes,” “Hormone Health,” “Functional Snacks,” “Calm & Sleep”?
Does your current pack, claim block, and pricing clearly belong in that story?
Investor Screenshot Test
If an investor snapped a photo of your box on that shelf and dropped it into the board deck, would it make your brand look bigger and more inevitable, or a little desperate?
Channel Narrative Fit
Can you explain to Sephora/Ulta (or your wholesale accounts) why you’re in off-price, in a way that supports your long-term positioning?
Example: “We’re using curated off-price banners as a controlled discovery channel for previous-packaging inventory, not ongoing everyday product.”
If you can’t answer these clearly, you’re not ready to treat visibility as a KPI, you’re just chasing sell-through.
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