Launched: 2021
Founder:
Key Executives:
2024 Expected Revenue Range: <$10M, according to industry estimates.
Primary Beauty Category: Facial Skincare
Other Beauty Categories: Body Care
Key Markets:
Primary Distribution Channel: DTC
Other Distribution Channels: Amazon
Funding Rounds: Venture Capital
Total Funds Raised: $13 million
Notable Investors / Funding Partners:
Notable Advisors / Board Members:
Participation in an accelerator program:
IndieBio—the world-leading biotech accelerator
We didn’t set out to create a skincare product. Initially, we began testing anti-aging products on the 3D human skins they were growing in the lab, using our background to assess if they actually worked. We were shocked to find that most skincare products that claimed to be anti-aging were ineffective at reversing the age of skin—some were even harmful at the cellular level. This propelled us on a journey to start researching new molecules, more specifically, peptides, that would target senescent cells, the root cause of skin aging. We saw an opportunity to deliver a product that promotes skin age reversal without causing cellular harm.
Insight provided by Carolina Reis Oliveira, Co-Founder and CEO
What are your key business initiatives for 2024?
Beyond NPD [new product development], we’re excited to:
What are you most proud of having accomplished?
One of our proudest achievements has been bringing to market the first-ever molecule scientifically proven to reverse skin's biological age. We’re committed to pushing the boundaries of skin longevity and innovation, from our rigorous R&D process to the screening of 900+ peptides—all backed by eight years of research and counting. We’re excited to develop even more solutions that address skin aging.
What has been the biggest surprise?
We’ve been most surprised by the success of our subscription model. In a category where people tend to change products every six months out of dissatisfaction, having an unprecedented retention rate with subscribers (for nearly three years) speaks to the efficacy of our products. It also demonstrates the viability of our approach, offering fewer SKUs and a simplified skincare routine, which has proven to be a strong strategy for our subscription service.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
We always lead with science. In fact, we dedicated five years to extensive research before bringing a product to market. The discovery of our proprietary OS-01 peptide has been published in a renowned peer-reviewed scientific journal, which isn’t something most companies can say. As pioneers in the space, we have the expertise, brand equity, and competitive edge to continue driving advancements in longevity.
What are your insights on the future of the beauty industry?
Consumers have never been more educated and are ever demanding strong evidence behind all marketing claims. Skincare brands that will last for the long term need to deliver results and back up their claims with strong scientific and clinical studies. In this sense, ways to measure the product efficacy at home will emerge as a strong competitive advantage. Also, with the advances in genome sequencing, taking into consideration your unique biology upon product recommendation and development will be another leap towards achieving high product performance.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
That it’s worth focusing on solving a big, audacious problem that if it works, could have a massive impact instead of addressing a smaller problem with lower risks and lower returns. In other words, dreaming big or dreaming small takes the same effort. In the early days of the company, we went from a company that was supposed to test the efficacy of anti-aging products available in the market to a company that focused on developing molecules that would actually reverse aging.
What is the best mistake you've ever made?
The best mistake was when we were trying to come up with an engaging story on a pitch presentation, and we over complicated the message, earning negative feedback from the accelerator, which almost kicked us out on demo day (final pitch presentation to investors of the accelerator program). The lesson being the simpler message always works better; even more so when the topic is complex, like in science. Today, still, we’re constantly working to evolve and simplify our message.
Paying it forward, what advice would you give to someone contemplating launching a beauty brand?
Make sure you are focusing on a sizable, unmet need and that your solution has a clear differentiator.
If you could change one thing in the beauty industry what would it be?
I’d love to be able to make the claims we have data to support that go beyond superficial skin improvements. While people value how their skin looks and feels, I would love to go deeper on the structural impacts of skin when using the right routine and notable compounds. As in supplements, for example, one can go a lot deeper in explaining the physiological benefits of a given product.
