Founded after former New Yorker and VOGUE stylist Shelby Wild relocated to Venice, California, Playa launched in 2017 with the goal of bringing natural Californian beauty and low maintenance cool to everyone, no matter the zip code. Playa’s line of six botanical based products are proudly handcrafted in California, expertly balancing the best of nature and science for truly transformational results, without compromising ease and simplicity. Gentle enough to be used everyday, Playa products are never tested on animals and are made with sustainably sourced, organic botanicals, and safe, performance-enhancing ingredients.
Ronnie Shugar’s personal mission is to positively impact people’s overall wellness through products he innovates. In 2014, he co-founded the lifestyle brand, Raw Sugar Living to mainstream the highest quality, handcrafted natural soap and personal care products for consumers, no matter their wallet size. Descending from three generations of custom formulators, he leveraged years of industry expertise to evolve Raw Sugar into a multi-million-dollar brand that has made natural living products more affordable and accessible. Today, Raw Sugar Living is a natural lifestyle brand on a mission to promote clean and healthy living through products that are good for the body and nourish the soul. The company mainstreams premium-quality and vegan-friendly personal care products, recognized by their signature “Bamboo Tops & White Bottles” message and “Living Purely Unfiltered” tagline.
Thrive Causemetics is a direct to consumer vegan makeup brand built around philanthropy, where for every product purchased a donation is made to women overcoming remarkable challenges (homelessness, cancer, domestic abuse). The charitable ethos of the brand is why buyers keep returning in masses, and giving has been instrumental in the meteoric growth of the company in just four years. In 2015, Karissa Bodnar created Thrive out of her one bedroom apartment (her first makeup product made in her Vitamix), and giving back was always her first goal. Today, Thrive Causemetics has gone from a little start-up to a multi-million dollar business. People love the company’s luxury vegan makeup, but they equally love the mission, which is what sets the brand apart.
Versed is the first digitally incubated, drugstore-sold, clean skincare brand to debut mass retail in its first year. Driven by a team of skin experts and a community of 16 million people, Versed’s mission is to make skincare easy and affordable for all through its clean products, personalized regimens, and uncomplicated results. Versed’s 19-product lineup of high-performance treatments, cleansers, and moisturizers retails for under $20 and is available at Target stores nationwide, Riley Rose, Revolve, and Dermstore. Launching in 2019, Versed co-created its 19 high-performance skincare products with sister company Who What Wear and its community of 16 million people. With a goal of education as an answer to consumer frustration about efficiency and confusion on the right products for them, Versed has put their efforts behind the community and personalized service.
