Martha Stewart is spilling her skin care secrets.
On Monday, Stewart and medical cofounder Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali, a board-certified dermatologist, laser surgeon and biotech entrepreneur, are announcing the launch of their streamlined skin care brand Elm Biosciences. It is powered by clinically studied ingredients and backed by 350 dermatologist advisers.
The brand, which will be available direct-to-consumer in September, is launching with the A3O Elemental Serum, $135, and Inner Dose The Daily Skin Supplement, $50, which together target the main causes of aging. The team did not comment on sales projections, but industry sources said Elm Biosciences could reach $10 million in its first year.
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While Elm Biosciences has been in development for the past five years, Stewart and Bhanusali first connected seven years ago and immediately hit it off.
“We met years ago in Miami at the Food and Wine [Festival] and started talking about skin care, and we started to work shortly thereafter on developing a really good idea for skin,” Stewart said.
Bhanusali added: “It became a true friendship. Martha and I had started speaking about a lot of different things. There was an intellectual curiosity about her… Shortly thereafter, when I was opening my office, she was actually the first person ever in my office before it actually ever opened.”
Bhanusali began creating iterations of products for Stewart to test out, which over the past five years have evolved into Elm Bioscience’s final stock-keeping units. During this time, Bhanusali said Stewart was incredibly hands-on, whether it be by testing and sharing feedback on products or discussing clinical research.
“I’ve tried a lot. [I was] very curious about who’s developing what,” said Stewart. “What [could] I find that would be the perfect combination of skin care? I wasn’t finding the perfect thing, so when Dr. B and I met and started talking about skin care, I thought, Why not try? This really has really worked.”
Bhanusali added: “I’ve sent her more studies than I can count at this point… [Martha] has access to anything and everything… and the idea is that we want good quality, efficacious products to help us become who we’re supposed to be and live how we want to live.”
After years of testing, the duo chose to launch with both a topical and an ingestible, emphasizing the importance of inside-out beauty, which has played a major role in Stewart’s life, as she is known for her healthy lifestyle and of course, daily green juice.
“It all goes together, and it’s very important. What we eat is extremely important. What we drink is extremely important,” Stewart said. “To keep in good health and [achieve] successful aging, you have to pay attention to what you ingest… I’ve been using [the system] now for quite a while, testing the different versions of it that we’ve developed, and people remark all the time about the vibrancy, the prettiness and the texture of my skin.”
According to Bhanusali, each product in the range features unique, new-to-market molecules and ingredients that target aging. The A3O Elemental Serum features Elm’s proprietary A3O complex, hyaluronic acid, squalane, vitamin E and blue tansy to support skin’s texture, radiance and collagen production to reduce signs of aging. The Inner Dose Daily Skin Supplement combines antioxidants and adaptogens, including organic turmeric, holy basil, vitamin D3, astaxanthin and polypodium leucotomos to target environmental stress, signs of aging and pigmentation.
With this unique formulas, he emphasized that the brand’s advisers have been crucial and will remain so for future product development.
“We have hundreds of dermatologists — I don’t think that has ever happened before — that are complementing our research endeavors, giving us advice, who’ve utilized some of these molecules, or even suggest new ones that they’ve come across that we haven’t,” he said. “It kind of feels like the derm community coming together in a very unique way.”
While the team landed on these two products to start with, Stewart hinted at several additional launches while still sticking with a streamlined approach.
“I’d like to incorporate the skin care that I’ve sort of developed for myself… Cleanliness, that’s one thing that I pay very close attention to,” she said, hinting at a possible cleanser. “I’ve talked to Dr. B about developing a really good toner or tonic for the skin. We’ve already developed and are working on the texture now of our night cream, which [the] samples I’ve been using are so good. I love them so much. You don’t need 100 different products to put on your face. You need about three amazing products.”
While Bhanusali has worked on a slew of brands, including Rhode which was recently acquired by E.l.f. Cosmetics, he said Elm Biosciences is unique for several reasons. He specifically pointed to the fact that Stewart is the muse and the products address issues he’s recognized in his office.
“The audience is very different. I look at the people [who] come into my office every single day who are frustrated, who feel like their voices aren’t heard. They’re inundated with expensive procedures or expensive products that don’t really have any basis for what the claims may be,” Bhanusali said. “What we wanted to do is speak to those people, the people in our offices, the people that we know, we love, we care about, and really provide something for them.”
