Versed is unveiling a refresh that sets it apart from brightly colored gen Z brands.
The mass-market clean skincare brand’s new desaturated color palette featuring muted blue, rose and green was chosen to reflect Versed’s core customers being at a different point in their lives than they were five years ago when it launched. The prices of its 20 products spanning facial skincare, body care and color cosmetics are remaining the same—all under $25. However, to phase out the former packaging, the brand is discounting products on its e-commerce website by 30%.
Katherine Power, CEO and founder of Versed incubator Clique Brands, the consumer products arm of media company Who What Wear, which she started with Hillary Kerr in 2006, describes the “quiet luxury” rebrand as a natural evolution of Versed that reinforces its commitment to leading in the beauty industry. Power, also the founder of color cosmetics brand Merit, says, “Since our launch in 2019, our customer—an older millennial or gen X—has grown with us, and we’re honored to grow with her. As a brand, we believe in staying ahead, both in how we connect with our customers and in setting the standard for innovation and visibility on the shelf.”
Versed’s overhaul was guided in-house by Lola Gonzalez, head of creative and design and a longtime collaborator of Power, who’s worked with her for over 12 years on Who What Wear and Merit. Gonzalez was on the team that incubated Versed in 2015 and created its original logo and color scheme prominently showcasing vibrant yellow, a shade that’s sunsetting for the brand. She leaned on Versed’s community—it has a 98,000-member Facebook group and 700-member product testing group—to inform its redesign.
The brand’s two most recent product launches, Press Restart Gentle Retinol Body Lotion and Buff It Out AHA Unscented Body Scrub, which introduced an elevated look, have received outsized engagement on social media, including an uptick in user-generated content such as “shelfies” starring the products, and the engagement clued Versed into its customers’ interest in a more mature sensibility. Bringing coherence to Versed’s assortments, Gonzalez says the rebrand “was really about us looking back to bring the rest of the brand forward.”
With it, Versed is reintroducing popular items that were phased out. The brand’s vitamin C product, previously called Stroke of Brilliance, has returned as Weekend Glow, and acid toner Weekend Glow Daily Brightening Solution is back. They both have updated components that rectify Stroke of Brilliance’s finicky dropper and Weekend Glow Daily Brightening Solution impractical pump top. The formulas haven’t changed.
“These are products you use every morning and every night, so they have to be easy for you to use in order for you to actually want to reach out for them,” says Gonzalez. “With this refresh, we [wanted] to find something simpler that lets her use it in a way that she chooses.”
The colors ushered in by the rebrand were carefully chosen to distinguish each of Versed’s product ranges. For example, retinol products are housed in rose packaging; hydration products in blue packaging. For the customer, Gonzalez says, “It makes it easier for her to navigate products on her vanity.”
Versed is available in over 6,600 physical doors at retailers such as Walmart, Target and CVS. It’s sold online on Amazon and Revolve along with its direct-to-consumer site. The brand declined to disclose revenues, but shared it’s projecting sales to climb at least 25% next year.
In June 2023, the publication BeautyMatter reported that Versed’s expected revenues for the year were between $30 million and $50 million. Kerry Sullivan, former CMO of Dollar Shave Club and GM at Neutrogena, became CEO in 2023. The financial information resource Pitchbook estimates Versed has raised $11.6 million in funding. Greycroft and LVMH Luxury Ventures Advisors are among its investors.
Beyond its affordable skincare, Versed has become known for its viral linen “croissant” headband that’s a favorite “GRWM” video accoutrement. “Headband” has remained a top search term on the brand’s site since day one, and Gonzalez figures the brand has handed out over 70,000 of the funky yet functional headbands. Possible future iterations of the headband were a big topic in Versed’s rebrand brainstorming sessions, and Gonzalez teases that a 2.0 version is in the pipeline.
She says, “There is definitely a lot of pressure because we know how much people love it, but I’m excited for a more mature, elevated version of the headband to be out there.”
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