Soshe, the refillable clean color cosmetics brand, is launching exclusively at Credo on Thursday.
The brand began as a college project at USC between founders Sahar Rohani, Junyi Wu and Aidan Maddox. They formed a relationship with Credo early on and joined its Credo for Change initiative, an accelerator workshop aimed to empower the underrepresented in the industry.
Simultaneously, Soshe was building its community with its hero product, a high-performing, clean and refillable mascara that’s buildable, flake-free and clump-free.
Now, they’re reintroducing the mascara at Credo with a new formula, adding peptides for strengthening and growth stimulating biotin to condition and fortify lashes.
“When we look at product development, performance is number one, because people aren’t going to refill it if they’re not using it every single day,” Rohani said. “When developing the mascara, it’s really a dance between the wand and the formula. We work with the best mascara cosmetic chemists in the world in Italy. That’s where the magic happens.”
At $32 (and $22 for refills), it’s ophthalmologist-tested, cruelty-free, smudge-free, water-resistant and in a smaller, sleeker design.
“We actually decreased the size,” Rohani said. “Feedbacks that we got from our community was that its formula was incredible and that people wanted to wear it every single day, but it’s a little bit tough to travel with because it was bigger than most mascaras. We took that opportunity to reduce the size by around 10 percent and also improve its recyclability. Now it is a mono-material component made with [post-consumer recycled plastic], and so it’s the most recyclable mascara on the market in addition to it also being refillable.”
Soshe has seen seven-times growth this past year, she said. “We’re excited to build a holistic partnership with Credo, and still online, and so we’re projected to grow $2 million this year in 2024.”
The core buyer is female between 25 and 50 years old, said Wu, adding that its email and SMS lists have grown sixfold in the last year. Soshe currently has a retention rate of about 35 percent, he said.
“We know our community is coming back not just refilling but also engaging with the brand and providing feedback,” Wu said. “We have focused a lot on education, product education. We have developed a whole system of creating content on organic socials, so TikTok, Instagram, launching reels and videos that go viral more organically. That’s been a big part of our strategy.”
Soshe — the name arose at a brainstorming session when the founders were describing their consumer “so, she…” — has also expanded with four more products: a $23 ($17 for the refill) ophthalmologist-tested, waterproof, smudge-proof “precision refillable eyeliner” in black, burgundy brown and midnight navy; a $23 “soft glide lip pencil” in four shades (it’s plastic-free, made with reclaimed wood and a recyclable aluminum cap); a $28 ($20 refill) hydrating lipstick and a $28 ($20 refill) “peptide refillable glow balm.”
Ingredients and materials are sourced globally, from Italy, Japan and the U.S. And there’s more in the pipeline.
“We’re excited to enter complexion in 2025,” said Rohani.
Source: WWD