After finishing college, Miranda Li found herself with a problem common to recent graduates: She was struggling to find a job she was passionate about. The fact that Li was a Canadian citizen living in the United States limited where she could work and made her job search even more difficult.
“The stress of not knowing where I would be geographically and who I was at that point took a big physical and mental toll on my body,” says Li. “I went through a period of depression and suffered from a lot of hormonal imbalance stress, which caused a lot of skin-irritating conditions.” While pulling herself up from what she calls rock bottom, Li realized the importance of taking care of herself and prioritizing health. Now, she wants to make it easier for women to do the same with her brand Rozes Beauty.
The brand consists of tonics that draw inspiration from Li’s Eastern and Western upbringing. “I grew up across four different countries. So, constantly moving around, I was able to see the pros and cons of each culture,” she says. “My Eastern roots really emphasized incorporating natural herbs and whole foods into my diet to help with stress, health and my skin, whereas my Western upbringing [was in] America and Italy, [where] they incorporated a lot of science-driven interventions, which are great, but have a lot of negative effects.” By combining the two, Li strove to create formulas that are modern, convenient and beneficial.
Named Glassy Glow, Rozes Beauty’s debut collection contains beauty-specific tonics in three flavors: cucumber mint, ginger lemon and hibiscus blood orange. The hibiscus blood orange flavor is the most popular so far. The tonics are crafted to promote skin hydration, elasticity and smoothness within four to eight weeks of continued use. In packs of 10 bottles, they’re priced at $70. A variety pack with three bottles is $24.
The beverages’ star ingredient is astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant extracted from freshwater algae. Other ingredients are goji berries, marine collagen, roses and tremella mushrooms, which are reported to hold five times more water than hyaluronic acid. Rozes Beauty developed the drinks with input from naturopathic doctor Bryant Esquejo and Karen Hecht, scientific affairs manager at AstaReal Inc., producer and purveyor of astaxanthin.
Li says, “My plan is focused mostly on skin health, but the tonics also help with the overall wellbeing.”
“I just wanted this to be something that was grab-and-go. I didn’t want people to have to mix it or dilute it down.”
While beauty supplements have taken off recently—Goldstein Research projects they will grow to $6.8 billion by 2024 from $3.5 billion in 2016— Li believes there remains room for options that aren’t in pill or powder formats. She points there are a lot of collagen drinks and wellness shots geared toward skin health, specifically in Asia, but there aren’t many companies in the U.S. in particular doing what Rozes Beauty is doing with its beverages.
“In terms of a skin supplement and marketing it as that, there’s not much out there especially in America,” she says. “I just wanted this to be something that was grab-and-go. I didn’t want people to have to mix it or dilute it down. I wanted something that’s a hydrating tonic that they can bring with them that also has all of these added benefits.”
Rozes Beauty’s target customer is women aged 25 to 50 who value holistic approaches to beauty and wellness. Li says, “She either wants to take her current supplement game a little further or she’s new to all of this and just wants a fun place to take the first step into the skin supplement world.”
Currently, Rozes Beauty is available primarily via a direct-to-consumer model, but Li aims to secure brick-and-mortar placements this year. Clean beauty concepts such as Credo and The Detox Market are on her retail partner wish list. Early on, she’s largely concentrating on Southern California destinations, including natural food stores, wellness centers, fitness studios and salons, for distribution. Rozes Beauty is based in Santa Monica.
Launched in late November, the brand is already sold out of its initial production of 1,000 bottles with Li says “absolutely no paid marketing, only via organic marketing channels on Instagram, minimal PR, word of mouth, and through events and pop-ups.” Rozes Beauty’s next production run is scheduled to be finalized in a few weeks. Li’s goal is consistent growth, and she hopes to build Rozes Beauty’s assortment with tonics that aid sleep.
Beauty results will be a through line running through the brand’s merchandise. “Your skin is a window into your body,” says Li. “So, if you are nourishing your body with the right nutrients—and that includes antioxidants, vitamins and important protein minerals—you can see it on your skin.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.