Clean beauty brand to launch at 1,400 Target stores

Dive Brief:

Offspring Beauty, a subsidiary of Clique Brands — which owns Who What Wear, The Thirty and College Fashionista — is launching its first beauty brand, Versed, soon to be followed by a second brand, according to Versed's LinkedIn page.
The clean skincare brand will launch May 19 in 1,400 Target stores, according to a company spokesperson. Following the initial launch, Versed will roll out to additional Target stores, as well as Riley Rose, Revolve and DermStore by July. The brand plans to launch direct-to-consumer sales in October.
Who What Wear is also involved with Target: the two started a partnership in 2016 and have since worked together to "create an ongoing clothing collection," according to Who What Wear's website. Collections are launched seasonally, and new items drop every month.

Dive Insight:

With a large brick-and-mortar launch plan, Versed is diving headfirst into the clean beauty space. The brand touts that its products are "developed with trusted experts," and don't include "1,300+ common toxins, added colors and fragrances, and pricey packaging," according to press materials emailed to Retail Dive.

The brand is also eschewing "airbrushed skin, marketing ingredients and paid influencers," going for an authentic and down-to-earth vibe that is gaining steam in retail at large, from beauty brands and drugstores like CVS to teen retailers like Aerie.

Clean beauty has been in the spotlight as customers pay more attention to ingredients. This time last year, Sephora announced its "Clean at Sephora" label, and in March, Target launched its own "Target Clean" icon, but the movement goes beyond just labeling products in stores that meet a certain standard: Picking safe and environmentally friendly ingredients has become a focus from the get-go for brands that launch in the personal care space, including many direct-to-consumer brands like Native and Madison Reed.

In addition to offering clean products, Versed is launching with a relatively low-cost group of items. The brand is highlighting "19 skin changers, under $20," including cleansers, moisturizers, serums, eye and lip care, and face masks, among other things. That makes Target a natural launch partner for the brand, especially given the big-box retailer's history of giving physical real estate to startups like Casper and Quip.