Herbivore Botanicals

Herbivore Botanicals is an American clean-beauty company founded in 2011 in Seattle by Julia Wills and Alexander Kummerow [1]. It began as a small-batch maker of natural soap and grew into a skincare and body-care brand sold internationally, known for plant-based formulas and, in much editorial coverage, for products infused with crystals and gemstones. The brand remains active and independently held, with several new product launches and a US retail expansion in 2025.

The company describes its purpose as harnessing the power of plant-actives to ground a beauty routine in wellness rituals, and positions its products as "a daily act of connection, not correction." It markets itself as an early participant in the clean-beauty movement.

The brand traces its start to a soap-making kit. Julia Wills, who had studied natural medicine at Bastyr University, made natural soap to help heal her partner Alexander Kummerow's eczema after he gave her the kit; when friends and family asked for the products, the couple began selling on Etsy. Kummerow has said they launched with "an initial fifty dollar investment" and sold their first batch of soap at a farmer's market [5]. Some accounts describe the brand as created by Wills and Kummerow "in their Seattle kitchen."

For roughly the first two years the two co-founders handled the work themselves. According to Kummerow, they "formulated the products, designed the packaging, took the photographs, ran the website, and communicated with customers." He has also said the company deliberately avoided bringing in talent from established beauty companies, reasoning that staying outside the industry would help it differentiate.

What the founders once called, in the brand's own retelling, "a tiny Empire" of skincare grew quickly through the 2010s. In August 2019 the company raised a $15 million Series A round led by Silas Capital [10]. In early 2020 it appointed Sandy Saputo as chief executive, effective January 1, 2020; Saputo had been chief marketing officer at Kendo Brands and had led the 2017 launch of Fenty Beauty [11][12]. The founders stepped back from day-to-day leadership at that point, though Kummerow remained involved in strategic decisions.

After a quieter period, the company moved to reposition itself from 2024 onward under new leadership. It launched the Nova Glow Facial Oil in July 2025 — described as its first new facial oil in seven years — and in December 2025 introduced a 15-piece body-care collection and entered Ulta Beauty, with a rollout to more than 850 stores [8][9]. Trade press framed the moment as an attempt at a comeback [8].

Herbivore Botanicals has no documented parent company and is described as independently held, with co-founder Kummerow still involved. Silas Capital, which led the 2019 Series A, is a minority growth investor rather than an acquirer. A web-search result has at times implied that Shiseido owns the brand; this appears to be a misattribution. The Shiseido reference in the relevant Glossy report concerns a competitor, Drunk Elephant, which Shiseido acquired in 2019 — not Herbivore Botanicals [8].

The company frames skincare as something that should work with the body's natural chemistry rather than against it, and emphasizes natural, non-toxic ingredients. It organizes its identity around three pillars it labels "Potent," "Plant-Active," and "Purposeful," the last covering its natural, vegan and cruelty-free claims [1]. Its stated mission is to "ground your beauty routine in wellness rituals," and its tagline is "Plant-Powered, Clinically-Effective Skincare."

Editorial coverage has highlighted a distinctive feature of the range: some formulas are infused with gemstones and crystals, which the brand presents as part of harnessing natural materials. Reviewers place its pricing in the mid-to-premium clean-beauty segment, with products spanning roughly $19 to $88, and describe its audience as clean-beauty buyers seeking ingredient transparency.

The brand's signature category is facial oils. Frequently cited products include the Lapis Blue Tansy Face Oil, marketed as a breakout treatment; the Phoenix Rosehip Anti-Aging Oil; and the Emerald CBD and adaptogens oil. Kummerow has said he "formulated over 130 versions" of the Emerald Deep Moisture Glow Oil before it was ready for market. The Pink Cloud Rosewater Cleanser is described in one review as continuously selling out and as the brand's most popular product. Formulas draw on ingredients such as blue tansy, bakuchiol, tremella mushroom, rosehip oil, Cambrian blue clay, vegetable-derived squalane and activated bamboo charcoal. The company describes its formulas as clinically tested.

Herbivore Botanicals says it makes its "products, ingredients, and packaging as gentle on the planet as they are on our bodies," packaging in glass and paper and using recycled and recyclable plastic "only when necessary." It states that its formulas are always free of synthetic dyes, fragrances and parabens. The third-party directory Provenance lists six independently validated claims across the brand's products, including Leaping Bunny cruelty-free certification and PETA vegan and cruelty-free status [7].

The brand is active. Its most recent visible activity includes the December 2025 launch of a 15-piece body-care collection and its entry into Ulta Beauty, alongside stated growth targets for 2026 [9]. As of 2024 its chief executive was Britany LeBlanc, previously chief marketing officer at Supergoop, and co-founder Kummerow remained with the company [8]. Its products are distributed across several markets, including the Nordic countries.