Launched: 2021
Key Executives:
2025 Full Year Expected Revenue Range: $75 to $100 million, according to industry estimates.
2025 Projected Offline Distribution Points: 7,000+
Primary Category: Facial Skincare
Key Markets: United States, Australia, United Kingdom
Retail Partnerships: SpaceNK UK, Sephora UK, Dermstore US, Amazon US and UK, Professional Clinic Network
Primary Distribution Channel: Professional
Other Distribution Channels: DTC
Funding Rounds: Private Equity
Notable Investors: Inflexion
Founded in 2009 by UK scientist Elliot Isaacs, Medik8 is an award-winning, age-defying skincare brand. Born from years of clinical and consumer research, Elliot embarked upon a unique mission to deliver one simple customer promise: results without compromise. Long inspired by The Body Shop founder, Anita Roddick, he, too, wanted to build a consumer business from scratch based on ethical and fair trade, but utilize the power of science. Elliot spent months in the British Library looking for peer-reviewed evidence in dermatological journals, and then experimenting with formulas at the back of his father’s pharmacy (lovingly known as “The Shed”) just outside London, UK. All the empirical evidence pointed to just three key ingredients for the vast amount of proven efficacy: vitamin C, sunscreen, and vitamin A (aka retinoids). Medik8’s CSA Philosophy (vitamin C plus sunscreen by day, vitamin A by night) was born—still the brand’s core philosophy today. Since then, the brand has grown exponentially and added a plethora of patents and category-breakthroughs to its name—all in the quest for evidence-backed, science-led, and efficacious products that not only deliver on results akin to those in pharmaceutical and over-the-counter equivalents, but without the irritation and available to all.
Insights provided by Daniel Isaacs, Chief Product Officer + Founding Partner
Key business initiatives for 2025?
As an independent and vertically integrated business, we have a unique agility to jump on opportunities as they arise. Peptides were very evidently one of the most popular skincare ingredients this past year and one of our bestselling products in the US. We will continue to innovate in this space, launching breakthrough peptide technology that we can’t wait to share. As well as further product innovation in our CSA core (vitamin C, sunscreen and vitamin A) to continue to deliver the latest in highly efficacious clinical results without compromise.
Outside of product, we’ll continue to expand geographies through specialist beauty distribution channels. We have some very exciting technological enhancements we’re bringing to our direct-to-consumer business and are very excited to roll out our social impact program, in support of community of STEM, environmental, and women’s health charities.
What are you most proud of having accomplished?
There have been many milestones and achievements over the years, but true to our scientific core, the role we’ve played in pioneering the use of retinaldehyde in mainstream skincare products, and innovating the revolutionary Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye—the world's first clinical strength retinal for under eyes has to be one of my proudest that continues to stand the test of time.
What has been the biggest surprise?
Don't underestimate your community; they are your biggest advocates and allies. We attribute our growth and brand advocacy to our community, and to this day our professional therapists, estheticians, pharmacist partners remain our original influencers and continue to recommend and support the brand 15 years on—a testament to the proven results they see from us time and time again, even when swayed by a plethora of new brands entering the market year over year. With over 30% of consumers directly discovering and hearing about Medik8 via a professional, they continue to be an integral part of our advocacy and awareness strategy, particularly given the rise and accessibility of misinformation now in the market. So while that was an obvious part of our brand heritage, we never take it for granted.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
While there are many brands that may claim to be science-led, as a brand founded by scientists with full vertical integration, it truly sets us apart in our culture and values. Critically relying on evidence and facts to deliver on our efficacy promise, which in turn enables us to develop novel and new technologies to challenge the boundaries of skincare science.
I’m proud to say that the Medik8 team meticulously makes everything in-house at our UK Innovation Centre, from conception to formulation, manufacturing and production to end-to-end logistics, which lends itself to not only an agile team but a curious and consumer-centric culture where every business function feels personal accountability for our customer experience.
Insight on the future of the beauty industry.
Scientific evidence and product efficacy will continue to play an ever more important role in purchase decision making, with discerning customers desiring patented skincare technology and dermatologist-approved formulations, at their convenience. And I think we’ll continue to see the skinification of other categories such as body and hair for some time. However, pleasingly we’re also starting to see the traction we’d hoped for in the rising importance of ESG in purchase criteria, with improved education driving consumer awareness.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
It’s a quote from Atomic Habits by James Clear: “We do not rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.” I’m pretty sure this explains every success or failure I’ve ever experienced.
What is the best mistake you've ever made and what did you learn?
The learning curve at Medik8 was, let's say … steep. We grew the business "the hard way." We set out with no investment or advisors yet set our intentions to create the most advanced and technically challenging products, armed with only the basic lab equipment that we could get our hands on at the time (namely a spatula and a beaker).
There were so many lessons and such power in this true learning curve —to succeed we had to fully immerse ourselves in the beauty industry - to understand not simply what was happening in the manufacturing and market landscape but “why." Why hadn’t anyone created a more advanced versions of vitamin C? Why was no one talking about retinol (both ingredients being integral to skincare as we saw it at the time and still are to this day)? Only this way could we achieve our ambitions and truly innovate. And with a purest approach to the product development—led by what we believed to be the most effective solutions according to science—it meant we weren’t distracted by trends, which resulted in very long life cycles of our launches.
What advice would you give to someone contemplating launching a beauty brand?
Investment, complexity. It's getting harder with the competition, but in order to maintain at the forefront of scientific skincare we adopt an out-innovate approach as our “norm.”
Don’t be led. Be leaders and foster an entrepreneurial spirit throughout the whole business.
Always have a curious mind. Be interested in everything and know a little about a lot. This way you can genuinely connect with your teams and peers.
I always say it's important to believe in the power of role models. A relatable role model is crucial to unlocking and achieving success as a leader and as a business.
People are at the center of every success. It’s not about hiring mini-you’s.
Don’t underestimate the level of change needed. Look for “different." The more you can relax your assumptions about what good looks like, the better.
Think laterally about sourcing talent and be comfortable with being challenged; it drives new conversations, change, and cut-through.
If you could change one thing in the beauty industry what would it be?
Transparency in ingredients, percentages, sourcing practices and environmental impact—a lot of the time not all is what it seems.
