Meet Elsa Jungman, the award-winning entrepreneur building the ‘Stitch Fix of beauty’

18-Jun-2019 - Last updated on 18-Jun-2019 at 14:14 GMT

photo courtesy of Elsi Beauty

Elsi Beauty launched in 2018, debuted its first product this year, and is already poised to be a leader in the microbiome beauty movement. Jungman brings years of personal experience, academic rigor, and professional expertise to her skin care startup. Elsi Beauty may seem new, but it’s been a long time in the making.

Like many beauty brand founders, Elsa Jungman has a personal connection to skin care. But it’s not every first-time entrepreneur who’s recognized as the leader of a “solid startup positioned to go the distance in the very competitive entrepreneurial world,” which is how Club 600 described Jungman when the organization honored her last week with the 2019 French-America Entrepreneur Award (FAEA).

Award-winning

Club 600 is an international professional organization founded by French-speaking business executives. The annual FEFA competition “is open to company founders in business for three years or less who are fluent in both French and English. Geared to early stage projects, eligible entries must offer a product or a service that is commercially viable on the American market with a demonstrated ability to generate revenues,” according to a media release announcing this year’s first and second place winners.

“We were very impressed with the quality of this year’s candidates,” Anne Busquet, President of AMB Advisors and president of the FAEA, tells the press. “Elsi and Algoexpert [a tech interview platform that took second place] stood out as solid startups….We are delighted to be able to support these ambitious entrepreneurs,” say Busquet.

In a quick snapshot of why Elsi Beauty won this year’s FEFA, the organization’s media release states: “Based on 10 years of dermatological research with renowned French and US institutions, ELSI attacks the damage caused to skin by beauty products and the environment. The company is disrupting the $120bn health and beauty industry with personalized and science-backed clean skincare for sensitive skin that empowers the skin ecosystem (special focus on the skin microbiome), supported by advanced analytics and a scientific diagnosis.”

Science-based

Jungman serves as an expert for the Clean Beauty Council at Credo Beauty, has authored and co-authored several journal articles pertaining to skin care and skin science, holds a PhD in skin pharmacology, and has worked with companies including AoBiome, Aquis Hair, and oversaw skin delivery studies for claims, research, and product development at L’Oréal.

Of course, all that scientific experience informs product development at Elsi Beauty; but the brand is also intent on leveraging data science as well. “Our vision is to build the ‘Stitch Fix of beauty’ by collecting data from our consumers and understanding the impact of our products on the microbiome to offer the best targeted solutions,” Jungman tells Cosmetics Design.

“We are still very early and bootstrapping (currently raising our seed) but we have managed to launch our first serum with only 3 ingredients to start collecting feedback and build the personalized platform,” says Jungman, noting that “In just a few weeks, we’ve already shipped to more than 40 states.”

Microbiome-friendly

Right now,every industry that touches health, wellness, and appearance, is researching and commercializing products and practices that act on human microbiota. Jungman began learning about the skin microbiome in 2015 (according to her bio on elsibeauty.com) and has ever since, “made it her mission to be an advocate and resource for promoting a healthy skin ecosystem.”

That’s part of the Elsi Beauty mission too: “We are working on the next generation of skincare solutions for sensitive skin with clean formulations that are respectful of the skin microbiome,” says Jungman.

To learn more about how beauty brands and ingredient makers are leveraging new data on microbiota, register HERE to join us next week at the Cosmetics Design Summit 2019: Skin
Microbiome Innovation, which is sponsored by DSM and Givaudan (Diamond sponsors); Solabia, and Sabinsa (Platinum sponsors); Mibelle Biochemistry and Atlantia (Gold sponsors), and Indena (supporter).

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.