Luna Bronze’s U.S. retail debut has been a decade in the making. The Australian self-tan brand — born from co-founder Maddy Balderson’s brush with skin cancer — launched in 2015, and it’s been restructuring over the last five years in preparation for global expansion. This February, Luna Bronze entered its first major U.S. retail partnership with Ulta Beauty, marking a key milestone for the brand amid a surging appetite for Australia’s body-care innovations.”There’s definitely growing global interest in Australian beauty more broadly,” Balderson, who’s based in Sydney, tells Fashionista. “Australian brands tend to be associated with natural ingredients, simplified routines and a strong awareness of sun safety, which resonates with U.S. consumers.”Australian beauty brands like Bondi Sands, Lanolips and Ultra Violette have already made waves across categories in the U.S. market, and the A-beauty space is only rising: In 2025, Australian beauty generated $16 million in media impact value (MIV) in the U.S. and it’s estimated to grow nearly 12% to $17.9 million MIV in 2026, according to Launchmetrics data.Now, a growing number of Aussie body-care brands are expanding their footholds in the U.S. retail space. Gem, a personal-care brand boasting minimalist pastel-colored packaging, recently launched in Walmart after fostering a cult following in the U.K. and its home country of Australia. Self-tanning brand Bali Body completed its largest U.S. retail expansion to date in February with its push into approximately 2,900 Walmart stores nationwide, while Orb Oils’ gender-neutral body oils (which are crafted in Melbourne) started entering the U.S.…
