Fast Company just released its annual list of World's Most Innovative Companies of 2021, showcasing the top 50—plus Top 10 lists, segmented by industry.

Here are the beauty companies that made the cut—and a few highlights from other categories.

10 Most Innovative Beauty Companies

The 10 Most Innovative Beauty Companies of 2021, ranked, are:

1. Credo Beauty
2. Madison Reed
3. Mira Beauty
4. Kinship
5. ManiMe
6. Prose
7. Sephora
8. Starface
9. Lyma
10. Opte

Credo Beauty's Sustainable Packaging Guidelines Earn Praise

Credo Beauty took the top spot on the Most Innovative Beauty Companies list, but also ranks at #37 on the World's Most Innovative Companies list.

Fast Company states it is recognizing Credo Beauty for "tackling the beauty industry's packaging problem."

Credo Beauty's Sustainable Packaging Guidelines, announced last March, require all its brand partners to meet specific packaging standards. 

Most Innovative in Fashion & Style

The 10 Most Innovative Fashion & Style Companies includes Hermès at #3—for its hand-crafted approach to creating coveted fashion and accessories designed to last forever. (Hermès applies that same craftsmanship to its beauty line.) 

Goodee is in the #5 spot. The online marketplace curates home products, including candles by Costa Brazil, that achieve an important social good.

Each product features a logo highlighting a specific mission, such as poverty reduction, gender advocacy, nature conservancy, and carbon reduction. The selection also spotlights communities of artisans from all over the world. 

Ulta Beauty Ranks for Most Innovative in Retail

Ulta Beauty ranks at #6 on Fast Company's Top 10 Most Innovative Retail Companies. Ulta Beauty's GLAMLab virtual try-on experience in its app was a valuable sales tool during the pandemic.

In scaling GLAMLab up quickly, Ulta Beauty "accomplished in three months what would have ordinarily taken three years," Fast Company states, saying the retailer deployed 80 in-store beauty advisors to support the digital innovation team.  

The GLAMlab app is designed for use with various brands sold at Ulta Beauty and includes a skin analysis tool, AI-powered try-ons for hair, eyelashes, foundation matching, and more. 

(The retailer is also in the news because CEO Mary Dillon is stepping down)

Dr Bronner's Makes the Cut for Branding

On the list of Top 10 Most Innovative Branding Companies, Dr Bronner's ranks at #9.

Why? Those memorable labels, which it recently used to gain support to pass a bill in Oregon last November to legalize psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms.” 

Fast Company states, "The venerably quirky personal care brand continues to put its beliefs on the line—and on its packaging—when it comes to politics, social, and sustainability issues."

See Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies lists for more details, including how to sign up your company to be considered for next year's lists.

Congrats to all!