Dealing with sensitive skin and reacting to different natural products throughout her life, Johanna Peet, chief executive officer and founder of Peet Rivko, determined a white space in the natural beauty category that she tapped into with her plant-based skin-care line.
“We call it next-level natural,” she said on her brand, which launched online in January. “We’re natural and we’re using all of these unrefined, organic ingredients, but we’re also leaving out a lot of the more irritating, harsh ingredients that you would find in a lot of natural lines.”
When looking for a fresh face to front the brand, Peet tapped her childhood friend and actress, Aubrey Plaza, who also deals with sensitive skin.
“I was never really interested in skin care or anything before, but as an actress [I’m] constantly having to put stuff on my face every day and [I’m] being pushed by a lot of different brands and products so it gets very confusing,” Plaza said. “There’s a lot of noise in that industry, so for me it was really great to have three really simple products to use as a foundation every day and to not have to put in any guess work.”
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Through Peet’s research on synthetic ingredients and beauty industry regulations, she discovered that even though natural skin-care products boast wholesome ingredients, many of them were still harsh and toxic on the skin. To offer a safe alternative in the natural beauty category, she determined that the best way to treat sensitive skin was with a plant-based skin-care regimen that included just a few effective ingredients.
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“I realized that I’m caring about the food that I’m putting in my body, so I should also be caring about what I am putting on my body, the products I’m using every day,” she said. “We’re very rigorous about our ingredients and using the highest-quality plant-based ingredients with the idea that if you’re drinking green juice and eating a kale salad, then you should be putting on your body something of an equivalent quality and wellness factor.”
The line consists of three products: Daily Moisturizer, Gentle Cleanser and Balancing Face Oil. The formulations are all natural, however are devoid of ingredients like essential oils, nut oils and floral extract, which can be harsh or cause reactions on the skin.
For a gentle, yet effective three-step routine, the products include ingredients like aloe vera, green tea, avocado oil and prickly pear oil, which Peet ethically sources from within the U.S. and countries like Morocco and Kenya. While the products target sensitive skin, the line is meant for any consumer that wants a complete nontoxic skin-care regimen.
“We’ve tried to build this ecosystem of vendors and suppliers that reflect our brand values and also care a lot about sustainability and minimizing environmental waste,” she said on being a sustainable brand. Along with ethically sourcing ingredients, Peet also uses recyclable packaging and bottles sourced from the U.S. and Europe.
Peet Rivko’s three-product lineup is available online and launched Tuesday on Kindred Black, an e-commerce site that carries eco-friendly products. The line ranges from $30 to $46 and is sold as a set for $115 and in a travel-sized version for $46.
Next up for the brand, Peet plans on launching a body oil in April and is in talks with various wholesalers to broaden the brand’s distribution later in the year.
“[We] are a values-driven brand and we are trying to educate consumers about how unregulated the industry is and how they do need to pay attention to ingredients,” Peet said. “We’re a new generation of retail brands that are connecting with consumers in a really meaningful way by being transparent and authentic.”