How Two Moms Built Prereq Care To Meet Gen Alpha—And Parents—Where They Are

Prereq Care co-founder Sana Mithani’s daughter’s beauty curiosity was sparked early. Two years ago, at the tender age of five, she began asking if she could use her mother’s skincare products and following beauty trends on social media and those her older siblings had adopted, prompting her mother to worry about what those influences might mean for her skin.

A fellow mom, Mithani’s co-founder at Prereq, Lizna Kabani, whose daughter is 12, was having a similar experience. “My daughter was seeing all these skincare trends on social media that she wanted to immediately replicate,” says Kabani. “She wasn’t aware of the side effects certain actives could have on her young skin.”

Kabani and Mithani weren’t alone. What they were seeing in their own homes was echoed by many of their parent peers. They didn’t feel the beauty and retail market adequately responded to their concerns or their children’s growing fascination with skincare.

“We noticed a gap,” says Kabani. “There was an aisle for baby products and for young kids, and then it jumped to adult products. That’s what these kids were gravitating toward. It seemed exciting, had great marketing, and their friends or older siblings were using them.”

Kabani and Mithani are launching Prereq to plug that gap in the market, address parent concerns and function as a starter skincare offering for young beauty buffs. The gen alpha brand is kicking off with two hero products each priced at $19.99: Reset Mode Deo Multi-Mist and Giving Me Life Hydro-Mist. Inspired by their mission statement—skincare for backpacks, not bathrooms—the products are designed to be compact, fun and easy-to-use, delivering real efficacy without compromising young, still-developing skin.

Available on Prereq’s website and Amazon, the mists are intended for quick applications in front of friends or alone. Mithani and Kabani explain Prereq prioritizes natural, gentle yet effective ingredients for the mists that can be sprayed as needed. “This is the age kids are starting to smell, their bodies are changing, they are sweating more and they are so busy,” says Mithani. “They’re in and out of class, gym practices and activities and a lot of the time they’re conscious of how they smell and try to mask it with different types of perfumes.”

Reset Mode can be used on the face, body and underarms for a quick odor reset. Formulated to neutralize odor-causing bacteria and support the skin barrier, it’s made without aluminum or baking soda. Instead, it has DeoPlex, a sugarcane fermentation–based odor control technology from the supplier Carrubba Inc. that’s been clinically shown to reduce odor intensity by up to 60%, and Serenibiome, a patented glycolipid from the supplier Solabia Group to fortify the skin barrier, boost hydration and reduce redness.

Giving Me Life features the active ingredients AquaCacteen and ectoin. From supplier Mibelle Biochemistry, AquaCacteen is a refined extract from organic cactus, and it’s been shown to lift skin hydration for up to 24 hours and soothe irritation and redness in sensitive skin. Ectoin was chosen to lock in moisture and protect against pollution, ultraviolet and blue light, with clinical data finding it can increase hydration levels by up to 200% over 12 days.

Although Environmental Working Group (EWG) is controversial in the beauty industry because its ingredient ratings differ from cosmetic chemists’ assessments of ingredient safety, Prereq turned to it to provide comfort for the parents buying its products and to serve as a stamp of approval for their safety. Prereq’s formulas also meet National Eczema Association’s standards for the Seal of Acceptance for sensitive skin.

“They don’t have the time or patience for these 10- to 30-minute routines.”

Kabani, who previously worked in human resources at Neiman Marcus and owned a namesake women’s apparel brand, and Mithani, a former product manager at YouTube, where she focused on privacy and safety for kids online, are committed to building a functional experience for kids while arming parents with need-to-know information on formulas.

Prereq is far from the only brand responding to gen alpha’s passion for beauty. During the height of the “Sephora kids” phenomenon in 2023, NielsenIQ estimated that households with children ages 6 to 12 increased skincare spending by about 27% year over year, with tweens accounting for nearly 49% of total skincare sales growth in the United States. Zooming out, gen alpha, with kids roughly aged 1 to 15, has already surpassed $100 billion in direct spending power, according to a Fortune report citing data from public relations firm DKC.

That market opportunity has prompted brands and retailers to rush in. Sephora has picked up gen alpha brands Sincerely Yours and Evereden domestically, and Indu and Evereden abroad. Ulta Beauty carries Daise and Bubble, which is sold at Walmart and Target as well. Other players in the crowded space include Yes Day, TBH, Btwn, Saint Crewe, Good For You Girls and Rile.

Prereq is self-funded, and the co-founders invested over $300,000 into research and development, formula ownership, testing, dermatologist partnerships and more. In the brand’s first year, they’re targeting $500,000 in revenue and plan to reinvest the revenue into the business to foster long-term growth.

Throughout the 18-month journey, Kabani and Mithani gathered insights from a focus group of 50 tweens and teens on elements of Prereq such as the name, color palette, tagline and logo. The tagline is “Real Starts Here.” Originally, the co-founders were thinking of launching the brand with a cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen. The focus group wasn’t sold. Mithani says, “They don’t have the time or patience for these 10- to 30-minute routines.”

In addition, parents are troubled by the possibility their kids could become obsessed with beauty products. Mithani says Prereq isn’t aligned with the “conception that they need to be spending so much time focusing on how they look.”

Education is a cornerstone of Prereq. The brand’s website has a “Self-Care 101” section for dermatologist content, ingredient explainers and myth-busting. On social media, Prereq will have dermatologist-led deep dives, ingredient information and parent-facing resources on what’s appropriate for tween and teen skin, too. The brand plans to spotlight kids active in sports, school and everyday life to normalize an age-appropriate, confidence-first approach to skincare not rooted in algorithmic trends.