Launch Date: July 2020
Geography: Toronto, Canada
Founders:
2025 Full Year Projected Revenue: $10 million
Primary Category: Skincare
Funding: Venture Capital
Primary Distribution Channel: DTC
Other Distribution Channels:
Key Retail Partners:
2025 Projected Offline Distribution Points: 1,100
Co-founders Connie Lo and Laura Thompson started Three Ships with just $3,000 in savings, no industry connections, and no outside funding. The idea for Three Ships was born when Lo and Thompson, both 23 at the time, bonded over their frustration with the lack of ingredient transparency and affordable, natural options in skincare. This led to a clear and innovative mission: helping people navigate natural skincare with confidence with natural, effective, and affordable products.
They started by making products by hand in Lo’s apartment kitchen and selling them at local farmers markets and craft fairs to get customer feedback. The pair went full-time one and a half years later and began working with local manufacturers to develop a full product line of clinically tested, dermatologist-tested, and truly effective products all made from only plants and minerals. Today, Three Ships, which can be found in beloved retailers like Credo Beauty, The Detox Market, and Whole Foods, has over 13,000 5-star reviews, and a repeat purchase rate almost double the beauty industry average (40%).
Insights: Connie Lo, Co-Founder + Laura Thompson, Co-Founder
Why now and why you?
Now more than ever, consumers are demanding transparency, effectiveness, and values-alignment from the brands they support. But the industry still struggles to balance natural, high-quality products with profitability and scale. We’re here to prove it’s possible to do both.
At Three Ships, we’ve built a fast-growing, profitable skincare brand with a clear mission: to make natural, effective, science-backed skincare accessible to all. We’ve done it without shortcuts—initially bootstrapping from a kitchen start-up to a retail presence across North America, while remaining B Corp Certified, EWG Verified, and radically transparent in everything we do.
We’re not just building a brand; we’re setting a new standard for what beauty can look like when integrity leads. That’s why now is our moment, and why we’re the team to watch.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
Our competitive advantage lies in the rigor of our ingredient standards and the depth of our review process. We define "natural" with uncommon precision, which has led us to ban nearly 2,000 ingredients from our formulations. To enforce these standards, we’ve developed what we believe is the most comprehensive ingredient-vetting process in the industry.
Every new product undergoes a meticulous R&D phase where we review thousands of pages of documentation, ranging from safety data sheets and sourcing records to clinical efficacy studies and certifications. This isn’t a checklist; it’s a full-time responsibility within our team, supported by years of relationship-building with contract manufacturers and suppliers who understand and respect our process.
This level of diligence is far from standard. In fact, many potential partners initially push back, telling us that the information we require isn’t typically shared with brands. But we insist because anything less opens the door to noncompliant or questionable ingredients making it into final formulas.
We believe this relentless commitment to quality is why our products deliver exceptional results with minimal adverse reactions. It's not just about what we put in; it’s about what we refuse to compromise on.
What are you most proud of accomplishing to date?
Launching Three Ships in 2020—the same year the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Thompson was diagnosed with a brain tumor—is what we’re most proud of. At the time, it was just the two of us running the business, and the future felt incredibly uncertain.
Despite the challenges, we pushed forward: we launched our brand, appeared on Canada’s version of Shark Tank (receiving four offers from three Dragons), and secured placement in key retailers like Whole Foods—all in that first year.
It’s proof that you don’t need a big budget or industry connections to build something meaningful. With grit, tenacity, and a strong “why,” anything is possible.
What is the one thing you wish someone had told you?
That imposter syndrome never fully goes away, so it’s important to learn how to manage it. When we were formulating products in Lo’s apartment kitchen, we believed there would come a day when we’d finally feel like we belonged. Maybe it would be after landing our first major retail partner, winning a beauty award, or closing our first VC round. But the truth is, the imposter syndrome lingered. We came to understand that as soon as you master one challenge, a new and unfamiliar one takes its place. That’s why it’s so important to recognize your progress along the way. We’ve learned to celebrate both the big and small wins, whether through journaling, team shoutouts, or simply taking a moment to reflect. Acknowledging how far you’ve come is one of the best ways we’ve found to keep our imposter syndrome in check!
What would you tell your past self before starting this journey?
Be patient. Growth takes time and so does building something that truly lasts. In the early days, we often felt pressure to hit every milestone quickly, thinking success meant constant forward motion. We’d often compare ourselves to brands already carried at Sephora and question why we weren’t there yet. But some of our biggest breakthroughs came from slowing down, asking the right questions, and staying true to our values—even when it wasn’t the fastest path. For example, getting clear on our retail distribution strategy (being the accessibly priced brand in prestige) and where we fit in the retail ecosystem took time.
We’d also remind ourselves that there’s no single “right” way to build a company. Advice is free flowing and while it can be tempting to listen to everyone, it’s really important to trust your gut and filter through the advice you’re given.
What does success look like in the next 3-5 years?
In the next 3-5 years, success means hitting bold milestones across growth, influence, and impact. We’re aiming to reach $50 million in annual revenue, secure a partnership with a major beauty retailer, and have launched the world’s best mineral sunscreen. But our vision extends far beyond financial or assortment growth.
We want to reshape industry standards. A key goal is to make our definition of "natural" the benchmark across beauty, pushing the industry toward greater transparency and accountability. A dream outcome? Seeing legislation passed that defines what brands must meet to label themselves as “clean” or “natural.” These terms deserve to be regulated, not used loosely as marketing buzzwords.
Internally, success looks like a thriving, fulfilled team, continuously growing their expertise and proud to be building their careers at Three Ships. And externally, it means remaining a brand that’s deeply trusted and loved by our community.
That said, we’re always evolving. If you asked us this question in three years, our goals would likely have expanded. We raise the bar every year, and we’re just getting started.
What's one industry trend that is overhyped, and what's being overlooked?
Overhyped: Skin cycling. What started as a helpful way to reduce overuse of strong actives has become another rigid rulebook. The idea that everyone needs a set schedule to “train” their skin often overlooks how individual skin needs really are, especially for those with sensitivity, which are many of the customers at Three Ships. The average consumer also is still getting used to knowing how to layer serums and creams, so skin cycling just leads to more confusion and makes skincare more complicated than it needs to be. At Three Ships, we believe skincare should be responsive, not restrictive. If your products are gentle and effective, daily use can actually help stabilize the skin, not stress it out.
Overlooked: Hydration. It might not be the flashiest claim, but consistently hydrating and supporting your skin barrier is one of the most impactful things you can do—especially with natural, clinically tested ingredients like ceramides and hyaluronic acid. In the race for quick fixes and “active everything,” the simple power of water-based and oil-based hydration often gets lost.
How do you think the industry needs to evolve?
The skincare industry needs to evolve by getting serious about transparency—not just as a marketing buzzword. Right now, there’s no regulation around what terms like “natural” or “clean” actually mean. Any brand can use those labels, regardless of how its products are formulated. That lack of definition creates confusion, erodes trust, and leaves customers trying to decode ingredient lists on their own.
At Three Ships, we believe the future of skincare lies in making things less complicated. That starts with clear, enforceable definitions and continues with full ingredient transparency, traceable sourcing, and clinically tested formulas that back up every claim. Because when customers know exactly what they’re putting on their skin, they can make choices with confidence.
It’s time for the industry to align—not just to protect consumers but to support brands that are doing the right thing.
If you could wave a magic wand, what one wish would you make for your business?
We’d wish for our strict standards for “natural” to become the legal definition across the beauty industry. This would empower customers to shop with confidence, knowing that when a product claims to be plant-based, it truly is.
Our dream is for every customer, no matter where they live or what their budget is, to have access to natural, science-backed skincare that works without compromising on values.
With that magic wand, we’d scale our impact faster—reaching more people, reducing more waste, and shifting more industry norms toward accountability and accessibility.
