Key Takeaways:
Innovation is one of those buzzwords that’s frequently used in the beauty industry, but it’s often misattributed to marketing rather than actual research and development (R&D). To be fair, real innovation is often hard to come by in beauty—unless you’re under the umbrella of a major conglomerate like L’Oréal or Estée Lauder, which has the resources to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in research centers.
Krupa Koestline, founder and CEO of KKT Labs, aims to change that by making high-level R&D accessible to indie and mid-market brands with plans to open a new lab specifically designed to introduce innovative solutions within the “clean” beauty space.
Founded in 2020, KKT Labs has formulated over 1,500 products—many of which are now bestsellers at retailers such as Ulta Beauty and Sephora—and purportedly co-developed 10 patent-pending ingredient technologies with clients over the last two years alone.
Now, after only five years in business, the company is ready to raise the bar in R&D. KKT Labs is constructing a 16,000-sq.-ft. Innovation Hub in Orlando, Florida, scheduled to open in the fall of 2026. Built with no outside investment, the formulation lab is completely employee owned and aims to provide small and mid-sized brands with access to the type of IP-generating research typically reserved for the beauty industry’s largest conglomerates.
“This is the very first time where someone like us, a [comparatively] small lab, can make a big impact by making technology like fermentation and tissue culture available for brands directly,” said Koestline.
It’s an audacious move for a seven-person, employee-owned company that started in Koestline’s garage the week before the COVID pandemic rocked the world. Today, KKT Labs has outgrown the garage and is preparing to open the first lab of its kind, according to Koestline, that puts biotechnology and high-level R&D within reach of indie beauty brands. BeautyMatter spoke with Koestline to discuss the evolution of “clean” beauty and the role that KKT Labs hopes to play in democratizing innovation in the category.
From Formulator to Founder
With a master’s degree in biotechnology and early ambitions in genetic engineering, Koestline didn’t set out to work in beauty. After landing an internship in Estée Lauder’s biology lab, it didn’t take long for her to fall hard for cosmetic chemistry.
“Our lab was right next to Bobbi Brown’s lipstick lab,” she recalled. “I just couldn’t believe I could make something I could touch and feel and play with. It was very exciting.”
She later worked at Neutrogena before transitioning to contract manufacturing, where she saw firsthand how commercial pressures often clash with transparency and innovation.
By 2020, Koestline took the leap to go independent and started KKT Labs. Among her initial clients was Amy Liu of Tower 28, who was then in the early stages of defining her brand's ingredient beauty standards.
“Krupa combines her experience as a product developer with her deep passion for nontoxic beauty to offer true expertise,” Liu told BeautyMatter. “In our early days, she served as a consultant and helped us navigate clean standards and think about ingredients. As a fellow entrepreneur, she champions small indie brands and is an incredible resource.”
“I push brands to go further than just a ‘clean’ list and think about environmental safety,” Koestline said. “People talk about hormone disruption or absorption, but forget aquatic toxicity, biodegradation, and bioaccumulation.”
KKT Labs’ own “clean” philosophy goes beyond simply avoiding specific ingredients on a given retailer's restricted substance list. Just as important is what KKT Labs doesn’t do: fear-based marketing. “Some people like to fearmonger because they think that’s what’s going to sell, which is unfortunate,” she said.
When KKT Labs’ brand partners veer toward fear-based messaging, Koestline confronts it head-on. “We have a big discussion on philosophy from day one. If you need to lean on fear, why? Maybe the product story isn’t strong enough, and that’s where I can help,” she explained. “There’s a better story to tell, so we really push our brands not to do that."
KKT Labs' list of clients reads like a who’s who of brands that define themselves as “clean” and “conscious” beauty, spanning household names and fast-rising indie disruptors: Goop, Credo Beauty, Rhode, Peach + Lily, Josh Rosebrook… and the list goes on.
Annie Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Credo Beauty, collaborated with Koestline for years as a member of the retailer’s external Clean Beauty Council before partnering with KKT to formulate its Credo Body Care line.
“I think the difference in what KKT offers is their approachability—they listen deeply, understand a brand’s ethos, and craft formulas that feel truly aligned with their DNA,” Jackson told BeautyMatter. “We [Credo Beauty] want to champion the changemakers, the people who are truly rolling up their sleeves and reshaping the industry—and Krupa and KKT Labs are the poster child of this.”
While many of KKT Labs’ projects are protected by NDAs, Koestline points to several public wins. For Kopari, she developed a product that became a bestseller at Ulta Beauty. She also highlighted Onélogy’s “cryo pill,” a lyophilized tablet that reconstitutes into a potent serum, bringing a first-to-market freeze-dried format out of the clinical category and into consumer hands.
Inside the KKT Labs Innovation Hub
As a chemist and “clean” beauty advocate, Koestline is no stranger to the “clean vs. clinical” debate, but in her view, they’re one and the same. “I don't really think that clean beauty and science are mutually exclusive,” she declared.
For Koestline, properly practiced science is responsible, environmentally aware, and sustainable—the very tenets “clean beauty” should embody.
“There's no need to pit the two against each other,” she argued. “An individual has the right to choose what they put on their body, and if you want to avoid certain ingredients, here's your option.”
Koestline firmly believes that both can deliver rigor and results; however, historically, only major players have had access to the facilities needed to integrate the two.
KKT Labs aims to change that with its new Innovation Hub. The lab specializes in skincare, hair care, bodycare, suncare, and hybrid makeup. The R&D process at the forthcoming KKT Labs is designed for small-scale core research, catering to indie and mid-market brands. Koestline plans to bring her biology roots back to the fore by offering in-house fermentation, tissue culture, and adjacent capabilities designed to develop proprietary actives, delivery systems, and preservation approaches.
“This is where small brands can do what only P&Gs and L’Oréals could do before—on an appropriate, small-scale research footprint,” she said.
Perhaps KKT Labs’ most disruptive stance lies in its approach to intellectual property (IP) ownership. The lab’s business model centers on brand ownership of formulas and, increasingly, of the underlying technologies. All formulations and technologies developed by KKT Labs belong to the brand.
“I've always believed that to be a powerful brand that succeeds long term, you need to own your own formulas and your own technology, and I think investors have realized that too over time, so that's what we focus on,” said Koestline.
The Future of KKT Labs
KKT Labs will continue to work with a limited number of brands at a time once the new facility is operational. The team caps monthly engagements to avoid overextension and preserve the dedicated hours core research requires, which Koestline said is essential for meaningful results. Clients seem to agree: KKT Labs reports a retention rate of over 90%.
“We treat all of our brands the same, whether they’re just starting out or are one of the major beauty conglomerates,” said Koestline. “Why should only big brands have access to the research?” she questioned. “Why can't smaller brands have access to this kind of research and put out products that are well studied without having to be partly owned by L'Oréal?”
If KKT Labs wants to make good on its promise to democratize access to innovation in beauty, accessibility is a must. The lab operates on a tiered pricing plan that aligns with both the brand’s R&D appetite and stage.
“It’s affordable for everyone,” Koestline added. “If you’re mid-size with an R&D budget, there’s a tier for that. If you’re just starting out, there’s a program for that, too.”
KKT Labs hopes to be the innovation partner that helps shape the next generation of clean, sustainable, and high-performance beauty. The team is clear-eyed about its mission—enough to know that it may not be a fit for every brand.
“We’re very realistic with brands: if you want to create something that already exists, we’re not the right partner,” explained Koestline. “If you want to create something unique that the world hasn’t seen before, this is your place.”
In beauty, the typical arc for a successful lab is to get acquired by a contract manufacturer, or eventually become one itself. KKT Labs is charting a third path.
“I don’t want to go into contract manufacturing,” said Koestline. “My dream was always to have our own lab, in our own building, that we can make the way we want, and outfit it with all the things we need for core research, so that’s why this is so exciting.”
If you want to start a revolution in the beauty industry, it makes sense to start in the lab. Beauty has always been a powerful tool for empowerment, but traditionally, small and independent brands had to fight for ownership of their formulas, technology, and ideas. KKT Labs is putting that power back in the hands of brand owners and offering them the keys to unlock the full potential of their ideas.
For KKT Labs, making cutting-edge science accessible to every brand is just the beginning. What comes next could very well be some of the most consequential beauty breakthroughs of the next decade, likely from small and mid-size brands, not billion-dollar beauty companies.
Although it may have just entered the innovation race, KKT Labs is quietly positioning itself as a dark horse, ready to challenge the major players in the beauty industry.
Let the R&D competition begin.
