As Walmart continues to identify and collaborate with high-performance skin care brands, the world’s largest retailer has announced its latest brand partnership: Versed Skincare.
Versed, among the fastest growing clean skin care brands, has built an 85,000-person strong co-creation community since its launch in 2019 that aligns with its results driven, accessible priced positioning. Versed’s treatments, cleansers, and moisturizers are priced under $25 and will be available on Walmart.com beginning February 1, 2022, and in more than 3,000 Walmart stores beginning February 26.
Items will be located on a dedicated endcap, as well as in skin care aisles.
“As a brand with accessibility at its center, we’re thrilled to be partnering with Walmart to put results-driven, clean skin care into the hands of millions more people. While clean beauty has grown by leaps and bounds, there is still much more work to be done to ensure everyone has access to products that are proven safe. A 2016 study by EWG found that only 40 percent of cosmetic items scored low in potentially hazardous ingredients. That number was considerably lower when examining products marketed to Black women. We hear from our community about these so-called ‘clean beauty deserts’ and are committed to breaking down these barriers inherent to clean beauty, while also raising the bar on our products and practices,” said Melanie Bender, President of Versed.
Paula Ryan, Senior Merchandising Director, Beauty, Walmart U.S. said, “Walmart Beauty is focused on making high-quality, value products accessible to customers. Versed is a brand our customers are already excited about, and we’re thrilled to add it to our growing assortment in the skin care aisle.”
Versed launched in May 2019 with the mission of democratizing clean skin care for everyone. Melanie said that for 30 percent of Versed consumers, the brand is the first clean skin care purchase they have ever made.
Hero products include the brand’s Dew Point Moisturizing Gel-Cream, which sells one unit every two minutes, and the Press Restart Gentle Retinol Serum, which has been touted by leading influencers Hyram Yarbro and Jen Atkin.
The brand launched at Target, and has expanded to more than 7,000 doors globally, including Boots, Shoppers Drug Mart and now Walmart. Items are also sold on the brand’s own site, versedskin.com, which in January contributed more than 25 percent of sales.
Versed leverages six types of proprietary data to drive everything from the formulas it develops to the retailers it distributes them through. Its community-first approach and consumer-centric values have positioned it well for digitally-native consumers, with more than 75 percent of Versed users as millennial or younger. Its community has also led the brand to go beyond the EU standard of eliminating more than 1,350 ingredients to also leave out silicones, added fragrances, added colors, and animal-derived ingredients.
Katherine Power is the founder and CEO of both Versed Skincare and Merit Beauty. Katherine is also co-founder and Executive Chairman of Who What Wear.
