BeautyMatter launched the NEXT Summit: The Future of Beauty to bring together the thinkers, makers, and doers in our community whose work raises the bar and defines the future of beauty. How could we create an event focused on the future of the beauty industry when the event might be out of reach to the future leaders of the beauty industry?
When we decided to take BeautyMatter offline for our first summit, integral to our planning was finding a way to make the event accessible to businesses of all sizes in the beauty ecosystem. Brandon Ford, Chief Accelerator Director, Lubrizol Life Science, shared our vision and agreed to fund bringing eight start-ups to Los Angeles.
Fifty-eight entrepreneurs filed submissions for the NEXT Grant Program, and below are the eight start-ups Lubrizol Life Science chose for our first cohort.
Lubrizol Life Science NEXT Summit Grant Recipients:
Alder Packaging was founded to bridge the gap between technical development, design, and sustainability, leveraging superior engineering expertise and manufacturing know-how.
Alder is a team of full-service developers, project managers, and engineers that make the packaging and product development process as seamless as possible for their clients, offering only sustainable innovation and partnering with Repurpose Global to ensure every package launched with Alder is 100% plastic neutral by 2025.
Sarah Sommer, Director of Packaging and Creative Development, Alder Packaging, shared in her application, "As a young female entrepreneur I want to show other women my age it is possible to have a seat at any table, regardless of the size of your business. Right now Alder is self-funded, running on our drive to be better and make a difference. This grant would help me learn and experience more of what the industry has to offer while also spreading the importance of sustainability."
Clean Circle was founded by Lena Chao, who was looking for ways to be more sustainable, and as a beauty lover she decided the easiest place to start was in the bathroom. When looking for eco-friendly reusables to replace single-use products, she couldn't find any, so she set out to create a solution. As a seamstress's first-generation daughter, she understood the textile industry's intricacies. After a year of testing fabrics and vetting the sustainability practices of manufacturers, Lena launched her reusable bamboo products to replace single-use makeup wipes and cotton rounds.
Lena Chao, Founder and CEO, Clean Circle, said, "I've been able to build Clean Circle from the ground up without beauty industry experience. We have prevented millions of single-use makeup wipes and cotton rounds from landfill. I am proud to represent the new beauty founders that serve diverse communities while protecting our environment and working to raise the bar defining the future of beauty."
The Honey Lounge is an all-natural body and skincare range that promotes self-love and wellness for the body through innovative herbal remedies. Products made with 100% natural ingredients come together to create healing properties for the mind, body, and skin. The healing power of herbs is a mantra that guides formulas from maca root to jasmine essential oil ingredients that are carefully chosen to serve a specific purpose, from skin healing or comfort through aromatherapy.
Maysan Hamid, Founder of The Honey Lounge, said of the opportunity, "As a BIPOC founder, I'm aware that resources offering insider industry knowledge are limited so I admire and respect any organization helping to bridge that gap. The Honey Lounge is a new brand with limited funding so this grant will be used to the fullest extent and will be very much appreciated."
Hot Jupiter is a planet-forward complexion brand reinventing how we care for skin prone to both acne and dark spots. The brand is driven by a mission to provide high-performing skincare while infusing climate action into daily life and educating the next generation to be unafraid to talk about the differences in skin needs. In pre-launch, the brand will be sold DTC and through a brand ambassador program for estheticians.
Jasmine Hill, Co-Founder & CEO, shared, "I started my career in sales at pharmaceutical companies in NYC. I was probably the only person in pharma who also attended CEW meetings, but I've always been obsessed with the beauty industry! My co-founder and sister Ashley Renne is a sustainability influencer by day and video producer by trade that has taken to social platforms to cultivate an eco-curious community that's 150K and growing. Together we are building daily solutions for acne-prone skin to get ahead of both blemishes and the dark spots they leave behind at Hot Jupiter."
Lady Suite is the first plant-based intimate care brand to bring safe, science-based, and pH-balanced solutions that are dermatologist tested and symbiotic with the delicate microbiome. When vulvar skin is healthy, it can also better protect the vagina from infections. The brand has a higher calling, committed to creating a world where sexual health is synonymous with health, and where all womxn have affordable access to safe, science-based, sustainable, and personalized solutions for all of their intimate needs.
Therese Clark, Founder and CEO of Lady Suite, said of the grant, "Lady Suite is a small team of women striving to change the way people think about intimate care and sexual health. We've led the narrative since 2018 and have faced many struggles in being understood by friends, family, and now with raising capital. We are steadfast in our mission and truly want to do better for all womxn, especially at a time when our rights are being taken and threatened. We will also pay it forward and know that for every blessing that comes are way is an opportunity to give back."
Nollapelli: Founded by a female engineer who was frustrated by sleep lines, fussy beauty pillowcases, and a lack of innovation in bedding fabrics, Nollapelli is the first textile company to focus on body and beauty with a foundation in sleep and overall wellness.
After two years of research and development, the first product is better-for-you-bedding, made from a patent-pending fabric that gives sleepers everything they want and need in their bedding. Nollapelli is cooler, drier, and smoother, providing sleep and beauty benefits in an easy-care fabric. Later this year, Nollapelli will introduce an eye mask that not only blocks light to promote restorative sleep, but actively restores signs of fatigue, stress, and age.
Allison Howard, Founder and CEO, Nollapelli, shared, "Nollapelli is a bootstrapped business still in its infancy, so funding for conferences and travel is almost non-existent. I think my 20-years of corporate experience in chemicals and material science internationally and my mid-career pivot to being an entrepreneur and business owner gives me an interesting and valuable point of view."
Nopalera was founded by Sandra Lilia Velasquez, the daughter of a Chicano farmworker and Mexican immigrant mother who instilled in her a strong sense of cultural pride. She is defining the Brownspace Opportunity with its iconic culture-forward branding that speaks to the overlooked Latina clean beauty consumer. The brand takes its inspiration from the nopal, an ancient symbol of Mexico, for its resilience, versatility, and cultural symbolism. The range of Mexican botanicals for bath and body consist of cactus soaps, scrubs, and moisturizers formulated to meet the standards of the cleanest beauty retailers.
Sandra Velasquez, CEO and Founder, Nopalera, said of the grand opportunity, "Nopalera is positioned to become the first Latina Legacy brand in the premium bath and body category. Our community is rooting for us because we are showing them what is possible. Having launched Nopalera with no savings or funding at the age of 44 while working three jobs has already inspired many entrepreneurs to step into their greatness. I created the Nopalera Podcast and my private newsletter to share the journey in real time of building a brand. I am working for the day when I can provide grants to other Latina entrepreneurs and pair it with the mentorship I am already providing."
Scape & Mys: Founded in 2018, Scape is an an app-based company that provides beauty and massage services on demand to homes and offices operating in 17 cities in Mexico (Mexico City, Toluca, Pachuca, Valle de Bravo, Puebla, San Miguel Allende, Queretaro, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Los Cabos, Tepoztlan, Cuernavaca, Tulum, Acapulco, Merida, Playa del Carmen and Cancun). In 2020, the concept expanded to online retail with Scape Lifestyle, making the best of beauty available in the Mexican market. The company strives to empower women through better job opportunities and improving the labor conditions and quality of life of its therapists.
Helle Jeppsson, Co-Founder of Scape & Mys, said, "We are a bootstrapped company but one of the best positioned in Mexico in beauty & wellness, and we would love to have a chance to get an entry door to the US."
Having been in the shoes of start-up beauty founders, we understand bootstrapping and limited budgets. This program is a case where we felt everyone deserved to be a winner. BeautyMatter has invited another 15 brands to join the NEXT Summit: The Future of Beauty as our guests, and every entrepreneur that submitted will receive an Annual Premium Membership on us.
NEXT Grant Runners Up Sponsored By BeautyMatter: Cleo+Coco, Simpure Clean Skincare, Six Gldn, Masami, Kaibae, Van Pelt, Shikohin, Seeds of Colour, The Eco Well, ON Beaute, Luxe Scientific, Disruptor London, MA Moments, May11, Pura Cosmetics.
