A slew of new beauty brands are coming to market, with innovations in hair and skin care in particular. Here, four key brand launches of the first quarter to watch.
The Root Project
$35 to $50 at therootproject.com beginning Feb. 25
A new waterless hair care player has entered the arena.
Cofounded by former Nars vice president of global product development Lucrecia Jovel and media veteran Patrick Herriman, The Root Project aims to improve hair health — as its name implies — from root to tip.
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The brand is launching with three products: Clean Canvas detoxifying hair cleanser and Instant Pleasure hair moisturizer, $35 each, and Power Smooth softening hair mask, $50.
“Our theory is that root care is hair care — and if you show your roots some love, great hair happens,” said Herriman. Formulated in accordance with Credo Beauty’s clean standards and packaged in 100 percent upcycled packaging, each product features the brand’s The Root Complex blend, composed of botanical-based and biomimetic ingredients (or those which are naturally produced by the body, like glutathione).
In addition, its hair cleanser taps peppermint to stimulate the scalp; the post-cleanse moisturizer harnesses Calabrian bergamot oil to smooth hair cuticles, and the mask looks to vitamin C-rich pressed lemon, purported to reduce hair fallout.
The founders did not comment on sales expectations for the direct-to-consumer launch, though industry sources estimate The Root Project could do $2 million in sales during its first year on the market.
“Many hair care options out there are effective, but they often complicate routines with extra steps…we see The Root Project as a step toward dialing it back, embracing the strength of simplicity and continuing to grow with products that are made from a place of intention and integrity,” said Jovel.
Wildfleur
$18 to $26 at Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty is adding a new skin care brand to its assortment that aims to maximize the availability of clinically proven skin care actives at an accessible price point.
Founded and developed by New York-based Tanushri Shah, Wildfleur will launch with seven products categorized by their respective brightening, hydrating, renewing and clarifying capabilities. The line is the first brand out of Cove Brands, the accelerator Shah founded in 2024, and is available in 600 Ulta doors.
“We’re breaking down the barriers between clinical and natural skin care,” said Shah, who began developing Wildfleur after discovering a South Korean lab that was using bioactives found in marigold flowers to develop a stabilized form of 15 percent L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
The discovery led to Wildfleur’s XC15 vitamin C serum, and also prompted Shah to discover advancements across babchi, sunflower and willowherb plants that could be harnessed to create potent — but not necessarily pricey — skin care products.
Other products in the line include a tocopherol- and sunflower-powered hydrating serum; a renewing moisturizer featuring encapsulated retinol and babchi, a clarifying toner which taps salicylic acid and willowherb and more.
“We’ve identified bioactives in flowers that improve the biochemistry and thus, the effectiveness, of actives,” said Shah, who did not share projections for the launch though sources anticipate the line could do between $3 million and $5 million in sales during its first year.
The Y Code
$59 at theycode.com
Longtime brand marketer Freddie Sheridan is entering the men’s grooming space with a line of his own.
Called The Y Code, the direct-to-consumer brand has launched with a single stock keeping unit: Well Kept Advanced Eye Serum, which seeks to address dark circles, inflammation and fine lines and comes in a squeeze tube meant for on-the-go convenience.
The line is designed for men who “are already enjoying the benefits of using basic skin care products like face wash and moisturizer, and are open to more powerful products to further enhance results,” said Sheridan.
Projected by industry sources to do around $1 million in sales during its first year, Well Kept taps algae, beetroot, ginger and yellow gentian root to boost the appearance of under-eyes. It also delivers a subtle tint to support a more even complexion, and comes in low, medium and high melanin shades (displayed M-, M, M+).
“Our goal is to redesign men’s skin care from the ground-up to truly cater to men’s skin,” said Sheridan, adding The Y Code will ultimately roll out a range of “multifunctional products that are tailored to specific skin care concerns that we know our customers face — and delivering outcomes we know they want to achieve.”
Nutrire
$36 to $68 at nutrire.com
Nutrire, a new hair care brand developed by Tricoci hair salon and spa executives Jessica Slavicek and Kristen Chase, is looking to break through via customization and “skinification.”
The brand is launching with three products: a scalp serum, a shampoo and a conditioner, though each are available in different varieties catering to specific hair concerns, or in the case of the scalp serums — a daytime treatment and a nighttime treatment.
“We see Nutrire as a movement toward smarter, more effective hair health for all scalp and strand types and textures,” said Chase, who is general manager of the brand and chief marketing officer at Chicago-based Tricoci.
Nutrire’s conditioner comes in densifying, hydrating, quenching and repairing versions, while the shampoo comes in calming, renewing and balancing iterations (for dry, normal and oily scalps, respectively). Key ingredients include niacinamide, lactic acid, squalane and peachcalm, a resin from peach trees which relieves inflammation and sensitivity.
Chase did not comment on sales expectations for Nutrire, which will be sold direct to consumer, though industry sources estimate the hair care line may reach $5 million in first-year sales.
“The hair care industry has long focused on strands, ignoring the scalp as the foundation of hair health,” said Chase. “Though consumers are increasingly realizing scalp care is skin care, existing solutions can lack true customization — [Nutrire aims to] bridge the gap between scalp and strand care while being both prescriptive and luxurious.”
