The Beauty Disruptor Karen Behnke on brand building

Karen Behnke has had a long and prosperous entrepreneurial career in the health and wellness industry. A lifelong environmentalist, Karen became interested in personal care products after becoming pregnant with her first child at the age of 40. She was astounded to discover that, while the skin can absorb what is implemented to it, there were very few healthy personal care products available, that performed. Karen subsequently acquired the name "Juice Beauty" and started the new organization. Juice Beauty specializes in antioxidant-rich skincare and plant-based makeup and has been cleaning up the beauty space since 2005.

Juice Beauty is the "OG" – the original green – beauty brand that is leading the way in the clean beauty industry. The company's philosophy revolves around strong commitments to veganism, cruelty-free products, sustainably certified organic ingredients, wellness, and its unique Farm to Beauty approach. Kate and Juice Beauty founder Karen Behnke, have a history of mutual admiration. Karen originally introduced Kate Hudson to the Clean Beauty movement 15 years ago, Kate started using Juice Beauty products in her daily regime, and the pair have been talking about working together ever since. Karen Behnke, founder & CEO of Juice Beauty shares more about her beauty brand and what makes it good for the skin and for mother earth.

You launched Juice Beauty in the US in 2005 and you entered India in 2021, what took you so many years to consider India as a viable market?

Juice Beauty's first priority was to build a sizeable business in North America before expanding to other countries. We also waited because not all the markets were ready to embrace the concept of organic ingredients and clean beauty products. The demand has increased rapidly in Asian countries in the last five years and organic and clean beauty are among the biggest growth categories.

As a founder, what have been your learnings of being part of the beauty industry for the past so many years?

Well, it sure is competitive! But I really don't pay too much attention to the competition as I have so much to think about on a day-to-day basis within our own company. It's a terrific industry with some wonderful people and I'm proud to be a disruptor!

What kind of evolution have you seen in the skincare market over the years?

Better ingredients, more acceptance of plant-based ingredients, and definitely everything went digital!

How has your product development strategy evolved with it?

We started out pretty innovative with filling with organic botanical juices instead of water or petroleum and we continued to innovate through the years with high efficacy, plant-based ingredients. Our goal from the first day was to have products that exceeded conventional chemical efficacy. We knew we could beat the natural but we were after the conventional chemical brands and we have done that with every major product as proven by independent clinical tests.

How has the collaboration with Kate Hudson helped the brand?

Kate embodies all the values of Juice Beauty…health, wellness, and happiness. Kate increased our awareness on a global scale and also helped us attract new and younger customers.

How big is the global presence of Juice Beauty?

Although our largest business comes from North America, Juice Beauty is present in more than 30 countries.

As an entrepreneur, what kind of challenges do you overcome while bringing a change in the beauty industry?

We have managed to achieve very complex and high-efficacy formulations and ship them worldwide! We have done this while leading sustainability efforts as we have avoided the use of 26 tons of petroleum by using sustainable plants, we have avoided the use of 10 tons of endocrine disrupting chemicals by using plant aromas, and have avoided 3 tons of pesticide dumping on the earth by utilizing organic farming.

Fact File

• 100% natural clean beauty brand
• launched in 2005
• launched in India on Boddess
• retails at ULTA Beauty's 1200 stores, Sephora International, Credo, Bloomingdale's, Dillard's, Pharmaca, Mecca A and Douglas Europe