You may recognise REFY’s brow products before you recognise Jenna Meek. If you’re wondering who she is and how she built her career, her story connects fashion, festival beauty and a partnership with Jess Hunt.
Meek is the co-founder and CEO of REFY, and previously founded SHRINE. Her appearances as a guest investor on Dragons’ Den have introduced her to audiences beyond beauty, but her experience developing products began well before television.
Who Is Jenna Meek?
Jenna Meek is a British beauty entrepreneur from Bishop Auckland in County Durham. She built her career through fashion and product development before establishing her own cosmetics businesses.
Her background helps explain what she brings to REFY. While Jess Hunt is closely associated with the brand’s beauty looks and public image, Meek came to the partnership with experience turning creative ideas into products and running a business. Both are founders of the company, which launched in 2020.
Describing REFY simply as an influencer brand therefore misses part of the picture. Its founding partnership combines an understanding of what customers want to achieve with the practical work needed to develop and sell a product.
From Fashion Product Development to Festival Beauty
Before launching her own brands, Meek worked in fashion product development. Her experience included roles connected with Burberry, Christopher Raeburn and Emilia Wickstead.
In a 2021 Forbes interview, she explained that she wanted a change from fashion and decided to spend a summer exploring body painting at festivals. That creative interest became the foundation for The Gypsy Shrine, later renamed SHRINE, which launched in 2016.
How SHRINE Turned a Look Into a Product
SHRINE initially became known for glitter, body art and decorative face jewels. One significant development was turning individually applied crystals into ready-to-apply designs, making the festival look easier for customers to recreate themselves.
The business later expanded into temporary hair colour, including its DROP IT hair dye range. Meek’s early career illustrates a recurring theme: recognising something people enjoy, then developing a more convenient way to use it. She exited SHRINE in 2024.
How Jenna Meek and Jess Hunt Started REFY
REFY’s official brand history traces the idea to a meeting on set. Meek noticed how many tools and products Hunt used to create her signature brows, prompting a conversation about simplifying the process.
Rather than beginning with an extensive cosmetics collection, they focused on a particular frustration: achieving a defined brow look required too much effort. Brow Sculpt became central to their answer, and REFY launched in 2020.
The distinction matters. A beauty product needs more than attractive packaging or a recognisable founder to explain why someone should choose it. Here, the starting point was an identifiable routine that the founders believed they could improve.
What Each Founder Brought to the Partnership
Hunt brought beauty knowledge, a recognisable aesthetic and an established audience. Meek contributed experience from SHRINE and the commercial work involved in managing a growing company.
An early Forbes profile described these complementary strengths as part of the partnership’s foundation. The lesson is useful beyond cosmetics: founders can share a vision while contributing different skills.
What Makes REFY’s Approach Distinctive?
REFY positions itself around simplifying beauty routines. Its range has expanded beyond brows into categories including lips, complexion and skincare, while retaining that central message.
That positioning gives customers a straightforward way to understand the brand. Rather than asking them to follow an elaborate routine, it presents products as tools for making familiar beauty steps more manageable.
Speaking at Visualsoft’s sync 2026 event, Meek discussed three priorities behind REFY: a clear brand identity, products with a reason to exist and customer involvement. These are her account of the company’s approach, rather than independent proof that every launch succeeds.
For shoppers, the practical takeaway is simple: judge an individual product by whether it suits your routine, preferred finish and budget. A compelling founder story can explain a brand, but your own needs should guide the purchase.
Jenna Meek on Dragons’ Den
Meek appeared as a guest Dragon in the BBC programme’s 2026 series. The role introduced her business experience to viewers who might never have bought a REFY product.
Her relevance to the programme comes from having developed consumer products and built beauty businesses. Those experiences provide a useful perspective when entrepreneurs need to explain their customers, positioning and route to market.
For viewers interested in entrepreneurship, the most revealing questions extend beyond whether a pitch receives an offer. What problem does the product solve? Why would customers return? Can the founder explain how the business works?
What Aspiring Founders Can Learn From Her Career
Meek’s career offers examples to examine, rather than a formula anyone can copy. Based on SHRINE’s development and REFY’s founding story, these steps provide a practical starting point:
- Identify a specific frustration. Observe where customers struggle, as REFY’s founders did with a complicated brow routine.
- Define the benefit clearly. Explain what becomes easier or more useful when someone chooses your product.
- Test the experience. Ask potential customers about application, packaging and instructions—not just appearance.
- Choose complementary skills. Be clear about who handles product development, marketing, operations and finances.
- Expand with a purpose. Assess whether each new product serves the same customer need or brand promise.
These are editorial takeaways from her business history. They should be adapted to the resources and demands of each business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Jenna Meek known for?
She is known as the co-founder and CEO of REFY, the founder of SHRINE and a guest investor on Dragons’ Den.
Did Jenna Meek start REFY alone?
No. She co-founded REFY with model and beauty creator Jess Hunt. The brand launched in 2020.
What was Jenna Meek’s first beauty brand?
Her earlier beauty business was The Gypsy Shrine, later renamed SHRINE. It became known for festival-inspired glitter and face jewels before expanding into hair colour.
Does Jenna Meek still own SHRINE?
She exited the business in 2024, according to her subsequent founder interviews.
What is Jenna Meek’s net worth?
Published wealth figures should be treated as estimates. A company’s revenue or valuation does not establish a founder’s personal wealth, so an exact figure should not be presented as confirmed.
Conclusion
Jenna Meek’s career connects creative product development with a clear understanding of customer routines. SHRINE made festival looks easier to recreate, while REFY began by addressing a complicated brow routine.
To explore her work further, start with REFY’s founding story and compare its product demonstrations with your own beauty needs. For aspiring founders, the more useful question is what everyday frustration you could solve clearly and convincingly.
