ECRU’s Dee DeLuca-Mattos on Supply Chain, AI, and Building Brands That Last

VP of Global Marketing and Business Development at ECRU New York, the rapid changes impacting today’s beauty industry aren’t just challenges—they’re signs of a vibrant, evolving landscape where independent companies can thrive if they stay informed, connected, and focused on authentic messaging and high-performing products.

As Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development at ECRU New York, Dee DeLuca-Mattos has had a first-row seat to the beauty industry’s dramatic transformation in the post-pandemic era.

Founded in 1999 as a salon-exclusive hair-care brand, ECRU New York has had to navigate a professional landscape reshaped by consolidation, new retail expectations, and shifting stylist loyalty.

“After COVID, consumers saw that they had choices,” noted DeLuca-Mattos, who began her career as a makeup artist for brands including Calvin Klein. Amid lockdowns, consumers discovered more options for at-home care, while salon suites opened new paths for stylists to run their own businesses. Rather than eroding the professional space, she sees these changes as expanding it.

“Today’s consumer can go to a full-blown salon that has all the bells and whistles, elevated services, spa components, medical components. Or they can go to an individual. Maybe they don’t want all the pomp and circumstance, maybe they just want to go and get their hair cut and manage part of their care at-home—maybe it gives them price alternatives.”

At ECRU New York, the response has been to design “hybrid” products that perform in the stylist’s chair, sit on a salon shelf as a DIY, and work just as well in a consumer’s bathroom. The guiding principle: if it meets the standards of professionals, it can live anywhere.

“The integrity of the hair is always the most important thing for us. Our goal is for all of the products we create to Treat and Perform.  We always make sure we have a treatment element and it’s performing at the highest level,” DeLuca-Mattos explained.

The beauty customer doesn’t follow a hierarchy anymore, she noted. Years ago, consumers moved through beauty purchase tiers, starting at the drugstore. If they had more disposable income, they graduated to department stores like Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s. Specialty retailers like Barney’s were at the very top, and stores like Sephora or Ulta didn’t even exist yet.

Today, that structure is gone. “The same consumer that shops in the salon may also be on Amazon and buying from Neiman Marcus. So your core messaging doesn’t necessarily have to change, because your product is your product and what it does and how it works should stay the same across channels,” DeLuca Mattos said.

‘The Biggest Monkey On Our Back’

An IBA Board Member, DeLuca-Mattos brings four decades of leadership experience at DePasquale Companies, the parent company of ECRU New York. Throughout her career, she has been a passionate advocate for education, innovation, and integrity—values that continue to define her impact on the beauty industry.

Today, DePasquale operates as a vertically integrated beauty company, encompassing product manufacturing – focused on two brands: ECRU New York prestige hair care and the Little Green line for children with sensitive skin – in addition to global distribution, spa and salon operations, and professional education.

That means it’s exposed to the full range of headwinds affecting today’s beauty industry, including regulatory challenges and global trade.

On expanding Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws across U.S. states, DeLuca-Mattos noted: “The biggest challenge for us is how quickly can we do it, and at what cost? Because let’s face it, it is much more expensive than our average packaging. We know this will be a collective effort, so we’re hoping that more and more suppliers are going to offer different options, which we are starting to see. And the cost is coming down.”

Whatever the future holds for EPR, sustainability is no longer optional—it’s a generational expectation, she said. For ECRU New York, the focus has been on safe, trusted products and incremental improvements, from solar-powered facilities to more sustainable packaging.

On top of increasing regulatory complexity, supply chain challenges – from tariffs to freight costs – remain the toughest day-to-day issue, DeLuca-Mattos said. “That’s probably the biggest monkey on our back now in manufacturing.”

She continued, “The most frustrating part is that we’re we are being informed [about tariffs] as the consumer is learning the news. This situation make its very difficult because we have POs coming in one day and tariffs hitting the next day. We want to make intelligent decisions not only for us, but for our partners and customers.”

Technology as a Catalyst

Meanwhile, a technological revolution is unfolding with the rise of AI.

While acknowledging the apprehension across industries that are feeling its disruptions, DeLuca-Mattos welcomes the AI era.

“With AI, you still need the brain on the front end because you need to feed it the questions and creative ideas, and to make it your own you still need to discern the information it outputs. So to me, it’s a remarkable tool—especially for marketers—because of the time it can save us in our research, and as a tool to elevate our creativity.”

Building Brands That Last

For early-stage companies entering this shifting landscape, DeLuca-Mattos offered both encouragement and a dose of caution.

“How do you make a brand that’s built to last? I think that’s probably one of the biggest challenges today, because there are so many one-offs that are making a product and they’re not necessarily planning for the long haul. They’re looking for the IPO, and very quickly. For the long haul, it’s going to take a lot more time, a lot more thought, a lot more pipeline strategy,” she said.

“Building a brand is not for the faint of heart, and you never get it right the first time,” she said. The most important thing a young brand can do is learn from industry veterans who have walked the same road and confronted the same challenges.

That’s where organizations like IBA come in, she emphasized. By connecting with suppliers, regulatory and legal experts, and seasoned brand leaders, entrepreneurs and new companies can avoid costly mistakes and crystallize a longer-term strategic vision.

“That’s really the beauty of an organization like IBA,” DeLuca-Mattos said. “You have access to all of these different minds that you are going to need when you’re building a brand.”