Beekman 1802 is getting in on exosomes — and without straying from its goat milk-infused M.O.
The skin care brand is introducing Milk RX, a “better-aging” cream powered by renexosome, a combination of goat milk exosomes and reneseed — the latter being a gentler, plant-based alternative to retinol that purports to be four times more effective in improving collagen production and skin texture.
At $66, the moisturizer is Beekman 1802’s “most premium, most advanced product to date,” said chief executive officer Jill Scalamandre, adding the brand has “always driven the science of goat milk for its anti-inflammatory properties — now we’re bringing it to the longevity phase.”
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Often extracted from plant, animal or human stem cells, exosomes are microscopic carriers which facilitate intercellular communication, transporting molecules like RNAs, proteins and lipids. When Beekman 1802 cofounder, Dr. Brent Ridge, came upon research out of Italy detailing the use of goat milk exosomes to deliver chemotherapy into tumor cells, “I thought, ‘Oh, wow — this could be a very novel way for us to get our active ingredients to recede into different layers of the skin,'” Ridge said.
While brands like Angela Caglia, Dr. Barbara Sturm and newcomer SickScience have increasingly tapped into the power of exosomes for cosmetic (versus medical treatment) purposes, Beekman 1802 is the first to look to goat milk as a source for the powerhouse carriers.
“Goat milk is a cost-efficient source of exosomes because once you identify them, you can extract them via centrifuge — so it’s just identifying them in the first place that was the hard part,” said Ayesha Bshero, vice president of creative and product development, adding that an infusion of polyglutamic acid furthers the product’s hydrating properties.
Clinical testing for the launch was the brand’s most extensive for any product to date, spanning three exosome tests to identify particle size and nutrient components, plus six others, including a Visia scan, to measure cream’s effect on the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Industry sources estimate Milk RX, which will roll out to all Ulta Beauty doors, could do between $5 million to $10 million in first-year sales. While the brand did not comment on the estimate, Scalamandre anticipates the cream will comprise 20 percent of Beekman 1802’s business within two years of launch.
“It’s a milestone [launch] for us — so many years of science have cumulated into this next wave, or movement, of skin care, which is about optimizing skin health and cellular activity,” she said, adding the brand is exploring ways to implement exosomes into upcoming innovation.
The brand has tapped a “hybrid of multigenerational lifestyle influencers and dermatologists,” to promote the cream, including reality TV star-turned TikToker Bethenny Frankel and dermatologist Trisha Khanna, whose patients the brand recruited for a pre-launch consumer perception test.
“We have Gen X, Baby Boomers and some Millennials that we’re working with because we know that everyone — depending on what generation you are — cares about skin longevity either from a preventative standpoint or a visible results standpoint,” said chief marketing officer Brad Farrell.
“We think that, finally, with exosomes it’s going to become lucid to people how powerful goat milk is as a super ingredient for maintaining skin health throughout life,” Ridge said.