Tula has become well known in the cosmetics and personal care industry as an early brand in probiotic beauty. The brand was founded in 2014 by gastroenterologist Dr. Roshini Raj, Ken Landis (a CPG executive who spent 10 years with Bobbi Brown Cosmetics), and tech entrepreneur Dan Reich.
In 2017, L Catterton made a significant investment in the brand, as Cosmetics Design reported. And today the probiotic skin care brand remains as one of several beauty brands in the firm’s Venture/Minority portfolio in their North America Growth region. (Other notable brands in the same section of the L Catterton portfolio include Cover | FX, IL Makiage, Kopari, and Nutrofol.)
A trend-leading skin care brand on the 2020 LinkedIn Top Startups List
Probiotic and microbiome beauty is really hitting its stride; the scientific knowledge and ingredient tech is advancing, and consumer awareness and interest is up because wellness has become a top priority this year.
The brand sits at number 30 on this year’s LinkedIn Top Startup List and as Jessi Hemple highlights in her write-up of the 2020 list, “'Clean' beauty is clearly having a moment, and Tula Skincare is capitalizing on the trend. The direct-to-consumer skincare — which uses probiotics and superfoods in its products — saw a 400% increase in sales in April, compared to the previous year. The company has been riding high on online sales, all while the beauty industry overall suffers from pandemic-related office and store closures.”
The entry for Tula also reports that the brand ahs 50 full-time employees, is headquartered here in New York City, and that the brand’s largest job functions are sales, marketing, and operations.
LinkedIn looks at startups from an employment and growth perspective
The list of top startups takes four metrics under consideration: employment growth, engagement, job interest, and attraction of talent; and the brands highlighted on the 2020 list have “risen to the challenges that 2020 has presented,” as Hemple notes in her closing commentary.
And from this angle, the list calls attention to the sort of startup brands that are thriving during Coronavirus recession. Many brands on the 2020 fit into industry sectors such as health, including mental health; wellness; and tech, especially computer software.
Among the numerous computer software companies on the list is Samsara, a company that uses AI to provide fleet management solutions to trucking companies and others in logistics and operations. And P.volve is a health, wellness, and fitness company on the list that reaches its consumers via live streaming.
And a few other businesses on the list that are quite pertinent to the business of beauty are NTWRK, Curative, and Dutchie.
NTWRK is a retail venture, founded in 2018, that Fast Company called the QVC for GenZ. A Startup called Curative, founded just this year, showcases the potential of biotech in the current economy. And Dutchie, a consumer services business that’s been called the “shopify for cannabis dispensaries,” while situated in the medical space, is only helping to expand the reach and consumer trust of cannabis.
