If there were any doubt Credo co-founder and CEO Annie Jackson is fully committed to her job, just pop onto her personal Instagram grid. There, alongside lots of outdoorsy imagery, pics of her kids, and celebrations of new store openings is a cheeky mission statement of sorts:

“Igniting a clean beauty revolution sure makes time fly.”

As the retail “chainlet” (her words) celebrates its tenth anniversary, Jackson is more fired-up than ever. On her "to-do" list: supporting brands that are dedicated to good-for-humans ingredients, slowly and carefully expanding Credo’s store count, adding the home category to its product assortment, and even manufacturing its first Credo-branded products via a five-SKU collection centered around hydration and calming.

Launched exclusively at the store in September, Credo Skincare comprises Deep Thirst Vetiver Root + Babassu Cleanser, $44; True Timeout Vetiver Root + Calming Botanicals Cleanser, $44; Deep Thirst Vetiver Root + Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizer, $64; True Timeout Vetiver Root + Calming Botanicals Moisturizer, $64; and Rewinder Vetiver Root + Bakuchiol Moisturizer, $64.

“We had incredible insight after 10 years of listening to customer feedback; most-discussed skin concerns and data supporting the most popular ingredients,” Jackson says of the retailer’s move into manufacturing. “We have estheticians and beauty experts in our stores who are very comfortable sitting a client down, discussing their skin, and having a very one-to-one conversation. All this information compelled us to create skincare that would combine everything we knew about what resonated most with our customer and complemented the rest of the brands we carry.”

To address a top concern for its shoppers—hydration—Credo clearly leaned into vetiver, an ingredient most readily associated with fragrance. Describing vetiver as a “potent little wonder grass,” Jackson says its root has been proven to boost hydration, protect the skin’s microbiome, and improve firmness and signs of aging.

One item in the new range, the hero product Deep Thirst moisturizer, got the clinical-trial treatment, yielding a 31% increase in instant hydration and 27% improvement in hydration after 24 hours, as well as boosts in instant and 24-hour barrier function. 

“We wanted to start with the Deep Thirst moisturizer as a baseline and because so many ingredients are shared across the line,” explains Jackson. “We were thrilled with the results.” 

Beyond formula efficacy, Jackson and her team overdelivered on the eco-friendly bottle front. All pumps and caps are crafted from what Jackson says is a first-of-its-kind recycled content resin, made with landfill and ocean-bound plastic, along with beauty waste packaging collected in Credo stores through NewMatter, a new entity from Pact, the nonprofit beauty waste packaging collective Credo co-founded to reduce landfill. 

With zero prompting, Jackson can reel off multiple stats and facts related to the Credo Skincare packaging, and the efforts she and her team have made to quell environmental impact. In short, she believes it’s hyper important for the nascent brand to demonstrate innovation in circular packaging, and essentially be the change she wants to see from every player in beauty.

Make that beauty and home fragrance, Credo’s newest product-category addition. Think Siblings, DedCool Home and Caftari candles, Vitruvi diffusers, room sprays, and laundry detergent. Jackson even envisions bringing healthy pet products into the mix at some point.

“We want to expand into home fragrance because our consumers are bringing a clean, wellness-driven lifestyle into all aspects of their lives,” she says. “Credo’s expertise in clean and effective formulations allow us to apply these brand values to a new category, ensuring that our home fragrance offerings adhere to the same high standards.” 

In other news for Credo, it’s added five new stores in the past year, bringing the total to 15. Jackson sounds positively giddy about the newest one, in Venice, California. 

“I’ve been looking for just the right spot on Abbot Kinney since 2015,” she says. “It was worth the wait.”

In addition to high foot traffic and a consumer who invests in their health, Jackson says that when it comes to picking store locations, Credo looks for like-minded co-tenants serving a similar demographic.

“Meeting our customer in their neighborhood in a beautiful physical space and providing an exceptional retail experience has always been our vision,” she says. “But we are very selective about the neighborhoods we choose, and they are always very desirable streets from a competitive standpoint.” 

Next up: Portland, Oregon, in early 2025. “We’re opening our 16th store in a beautiful landmark building on NW 23rd Avenue,” notes Jackson, who says she frequently tours possible store locations, and is “always” evaluating potential opportunities. 

Of course, all this location-scouting and new brand creation is in addition to Jackson’s day job of ensuring that Credo’s shelves are continually stocked with the latest and greatest in clean beauty. 

“Exclusives are our superpower,” she says. “Brands choosing Credo as their first retail partner is very meaningful to us, and the founder story is such a critical part of our customers’ decision making. They want to align their own life to the ‘why’ behind the creation of a brand. And we love storytelling and bringing a brand to life.”

It’s a measure of how dialed-in Jackson is to trending product that she instantly provides a list of current Credo exclusives, including Gen See Mixed Media Liquid Eyeshadow, Soshe Ceramide Lip Silk Lipstick, Kosas Weightless Lip Color Nourishing Satin Lipstick in Rosewater and Stardust, Minu Brightening Mineral Sunscreen, Reverie Hymn Hair Gel, Marie Veronique Face to Chest Mask, and more.

Despite the “scam” rumblings around clean beauty that have surfaced over the last 18 months or so, Jackson is bullish—and highly vocal—on the category. 

“I see the future of clean beauty optimistically,” she insists. “I see it as the next generation of beauty, where founders roll up their sleeves, refuse to accept harmful ingredients, and thoughtfully choose alternatives or work with suppliers to create them. I am continually inspired by the brands we work with that are exploring new manufacturing methods and being transparent about what’s in their products and who they’re working with.”

And while much has already been achieved, such as the passing of MoCRA (Modernization of Cosmetics Regulations Act) in 2022, there’s still work to be done. 

“Innovating an industry isn’t unique to beauty,” says Jackson, ticking off a tidy list of other fields, including food, medicine, and construction, that have undergone sea changes. “If we hadn’t started pushing for more regulation when we founded Credo, perhaps we wouldn’t have had the chance to celebrate the passing of MoCRA. And there is still so much we are working on getting into law—the elimination of intentionally added PFAS and supply chain transparency laws, to name a few.”