Rose Inc

Rose Inc is an American clean-beauty brand that sells makeup and skincare. It grew out of a beauty editorial website launched by British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, which later expanded into a product line built around the tagline "clean beauty powered by science." The brand is now owned by AA Investments (HK) Ltd., a Hong Kong asset-management firm that acquired it in December 2023 [8]; Huntington-Whiteley announced in May 2024 that she was no longer involved with the company [8].

Accounts of when Rose Inc "began" differ, depending on whether one counts the editorial platform or the cosmetics line. Trade publication Glossy dates the venture to May 2018, when Huntington-Whiteley launched Rose Inc as an online beauty publication [7]. Wikipedia's account, framed around the products, places the brand's start in August 2021, when it "expanded to selling its own clean makeup and skincare" [6].

Rose Inc started not as a cosmetics company but as a media project. Following the birth of her first child, Huntington-Whiteley launched a website of the same name in May 2018; as an online publication it employed around 30 people and carried interviews, tutorials and educational stories, working alongside its Instagram and YouTube accounts [7]. The brand's country base is the United States, the market through which the products first launched.

The move into physical products came through a joint venture. Huntington-Whiteley partnered with the biotechnology company Amyris Inc. via a newly formed entity, the Clean Beauty Collective, in which Amyris held 60 percent and she retained 40 percent [7]. Caroline Hadfield, who had worked at Amyris in various roles since 2015, served as chief executive [7]. The brand-site's reference to "nearly two decades of experience in the makeup chair" describes the founder's career, not the company's age.

The product line arrived in 2021. A first look at the beauty brand took place on August 20, 2021, with early access for registered members and a general retail launch on August 27 through Sephora, Sephora.com and RoseInc.com in the United States, followed by Sephora Canada and Space NK in the United Kingdom and a later rollout through Mecca in Australia [7]. The debut Modern Essentials collection spanned complexion, lip, brow and skincare products.

The venture's structure unravelled two years later. Amyris, the brand's incubator and joint-venture partner, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2023 [8]. Rose Inc was sold in December 2023, and in May 2024 Huntington-Whiteley publicly distanced herself, stating that the brand was "now under new ownership" and that she was "no longer involved or affiliated with its operations, products or promotional activities" [8].

Rose Inc has passed through two ownership structures. It was first operated through the Clean Beauty Collective joint venture with Amyris. After Amyris entered bankruptcy, the brand was acquired by AA Investments (HK) Ltd., a Hong Kong-based asset-management firm, for $2.5 million in December 2023 [8].

Rose Inc presents itself under the line "clean beauty powered by science," combining colour cosmetics with skincare. The company describes its aim as "delivering instant results with lasting skincare benefits," and says its formulas unite "efficacy and ethics" through "proprietary bioengineered botanicals and safe synthetic ingredients." Editorial coverage has positioned the range as an "affordable luxury," with minimalist packaging that reviewers have associated with "quiet luxury," aimed at consumers looking for lightweight, hydrating essentials.

The brand's better-known products sit in complexion and cheek colour: the Softlight Skin-Smoothing Liquid Foundation, the Softlight Luminous Hydrating Concealer, the Cream Blush Refillable Cheek and Lip Color, the Blush Divine Radiant Lip and Cheek Color, and the Solar Infusion Soft-Focus Cream Bronzer. In an independent review, Who What Wear singled out the Solar Infusion bronzer and Blush Divine as standout picks [9].

Formulation leans on ingredients the brand describes as plant-derived, including a squalane it says is derived from renewable sugar cane, alongside vitamin E, sea fennel extract, pink clay powder and hyaluronic acid. According to the company, the range draws on "5 proprietary bioengineered botanical ingredients." Rose Inc states that it is vegan and Leaping Bunny certified for cruelty-free status, and points to packaging made with at least 25 percent post-consumer recycled plastic and FSC-certified paper cartons containing hemp. It also offers refillable formats, including cream blush compacts with tin pans and refillable lip colour, describing a preference for "long-term environmental benefits over the short-term benefits of opulent packaging."

The brand's main disruption was financial rather than reputational. The collapse of its joint-venture partner and incubator, Amyris, into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2023 led to Rose Inc being sold, after which its celebrity founder publicly separated herself from the company in May 2024 [8].

Rose Inc is an acquired brand operating under new ownership. Following the Amyris bankruptcy, it was bought by AA Investments (HK) Ltd. in December 2023, and founder Rosie Huntington-Whiteley left in May 2024 [8]. As of mid-2026 the roseinc.com website remained active and selling makeup and skincare across multiple regions.