Kaia Gerber joins Uni as brand expands into Ulta Beauty

Kaia Gerber’s new title at Uni does more than add a familiar face to a body-care campaign. As the brand’s first creative partner in residence, she gives Uni the kind of fashion-adjacent visibility that turns a sustainable shower oil or body serum into something that feels current, giftable and easy to recognize on an Ulta Beauty shelf.

The timing matters. Uni is set to expand into more than 1,600 Ulta Beauty stores across the United States beginning July 12, and Gerber is fronting the launch with a campaign shot by Theo Wenner. The lineup centers on Uni’s 24-Hour Body Serum, Plush Marine Shower Oil and Microalgae Body Oil, three products that fit neatly into the kind of beauty gift people buy when they want something polished but not predictable.

Gerber’s role is broader than a standard ambassador deal. She will work with Uni on campaigns, partnerships, events and product development, and Alexandra Keating has described her involvement as still in the “discovery phase.” That makes the partnership feel less like a quick celebrity endorsement and more like a test case for how a younger, highly visible face can help a body-care brand move from cult interest to mainstream retail momentum.

Uni has been building toward this moment since Keating founded the brand in 2022. The company launched as a closed-loop body-care system built around recyclable aluminum bottles and reusable dispensers, with marine-powered formulas and a reef-safe identity at the center of the pitch. In a gifting landscape where presentation matters almost as much as the product itself, those details count. A bottle that can be refilled and reused feels more considered than a throwaway seasonal set.

For shoppers looking at body care as a present, the key thing to watch is how Uni uses the Ulta rollout to sharpen its visual code. The campaign’s photography, the prominence of Gerber and the focus on hero products suggest the brand wants to sit closer to the lifestyle end of beauty, where packaging and story help justify the gift. If Uni follows through with limited drops or special retail-only sets, that would be the moment it moves from niche sustainable beauty to one of those presents that feels found before everyone else gets to it.

The bigger signal is simple: celebrity beauty is still working best when the famous face reinforces a product story already strong enough to stand on its own. Gerber gives Uni that lift, but the brand’s real advantage is the combination of sleek packaging, refill logic and products that look made for the bathroom shelf of someone who pays attention.