Victoria Beckham is a fan. So is supermodel Naomi Campbell. Their Undaria Algae Body Butter was featured as one of Cosmopolitan’s 2022 Holy Grail products. And scroll through TikTok and you’ll find thousands of rave reviews. By all accounts, OSEA Malibu has become a bonafide skincare sensation.
But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, many of their more recent consumers might be surprised to learn that OSEA Malibu has been around for more than 25 years, flying under the radar as a small but beloved Southern California-based business.
And their now-viral buzz? It’s built on the ethos OSEA has kept at the forefront since the mid-‘90s: a dedication to clean, plant-based and cruelty-free skincare products that work and are created through sustainable business practices.
We spoke to CEO Melissa Palmer, who is a member of YPO, on how her family’s company has maintained its values and authenticity through tremendous growth and a significant increase in market competition.
Continuing a legacy
A strong entrepreneurial spirit runs through the women in Melissa Palmer’s family. When her great-grandmother Elsa, one of the first female chiropractors in the United States, suffered a debilitating leg injury, she turned to the frigid cold waters of the Long Island Sound for healing. She rehabbed her leg and developed a regular swimming habit she’d continue into her ‘90s, sharing her findings with her family along the way.
“She really raised our entire family with this deep knowledge that the ocean is the source of life and healing,” says Palmer.
Palmer’s mother, Jenefer Palmer, was an archaeologist turned spa director at one of Southern California’s first wellness spas. When she began formulating her own natural skincare products, she, too, turned to the ocean. Specifically, she looked to seaweed, a nutrient-dense superfood known to provide anti-aging and moisturizing benefits. Fine-tuning products right in their family home, Jenefer Palmer launched OSEA Malibu — which stands for ocean, sun, earth and atmosphere — in 1996.
A family endeavor from the start, Melissa laughs that at any given point she has held almost every position within the company, even learning QuickBooks in high school to manage the accounting needs.
Though she stepped away from an official role for a bit — including spending time launching Hoopnotica, an adult hula hoop exercise company, and doing a 500-mile walk across Spain — she couldn’t stop thinking about the potential of her family business. She returned in 2015 to take the reigns as CEO.
“It’s really just a story of all the women in my family who have been focused on natural health, wellness and healing,” she says. “And I get to share that message and carry on the legacy.”
Carrying on the legacy has translated to tremendous growth for the brand. In 2020 alone, OSEA grew 115% and had been doubling sales year-over-year for the previous six years. Their products are now found in Nordstrom, Bluemercury, Credo, Amazon, and Revolve, and they launched in Ulta Beauty through the retailer’s Conscious Beauty Initiative.
By harnessing e-commerce opportunities, developing wholesale partnerships, opening a storefront in the trendy Abbot Kinney neighborhood of Los Angeles and, of course, and perhaps most importantly, strategically growing their digital marketing efforts through aesthetically pleasing social media and clever influencer and podcast placements, Palmer has positioned what was once her mother’s dream into a power player in the industry.
Charting the course and leading the conversation
Today, if a buzzy skincare line launches and it isn’t touting naturally derived ingredients and/or sustainable practices, it could be considered a market anomaly. But back when Jenefer Palmer launched OSEA this way, she was a pioneer.
“We really were kind of like these fringe hippies,” her daughter says with a laugh. “It’s been incredible to watch the market shift toward wanting what we’ve always been doing. And we’ve been able to maintain our lead.”
Not only were their values baked into the business from the start, but they remain essential to how Palmer and her team operate today.Take their approach to sustainability: Palmer says it’s not a one-and-done mentality, but a constant decision-making process.
From the day Jenefer Palmer began OSEA, they’ve used glass containers for all products. When OSEA moved into wholesale, Palmer refrained from using any boxes in their packaging to avoid waste. When they took on direct-to-consumer, the company sourced packaging made from recyclable paper to reduce their impact. They eventually even stopped sending invoices with their packages because they realized it would save of paper.
“It’s important to always be refining your practices, like, does this box need a liner? Because small choices add up,” says Palmer.
And when it comes to the natural ingredients in their products, their role as a leader in a shifting industry has brought a new challenge.
While their talking points were once about the importance of natural ingredients in general, now, because of the influx of ‘natural’ competitors in the market, consumers are learning that not every product delivers the same caliber of results. That means OSEA’s messaging must increasingly focus on highlighting the efficacy of their products.
“As a consumer myself, it can be hard to suss out what works versus what’s clean — they might not be the same thing and there’s virtually no regulation on these terms,” says Palmer. “At the end of the day, results are still required, and our entire business has been built on repeat consistent purchasing, which is really reflective of the quality and investment that we make into our ingredients and formulas.”
New frontiers: formulizing their commitments and going global
For Palmer and her team, a commitment to sustainability isn’t just something they do for good PR. They truly believe in it. And because they source their ingredients from the ocean, they ultimately depend on it.
In 2020, OSEA became climate-neutral certified, committing to offsetting as much carbon as they were creating.
Then in 2022, they became the first Ocean Positive beauty brand, meaning they now offset more carbon than they create. The financial resources and carbon credits they receive then go toward kelp reforestation projects through the organization, SeaTrees.
Along with these public commitments, in 2021, for the first time in the company’s history, they welcomed outside funding, with a minority investment from Cavu Partners. Not interested in bringing in financial support from just anywhere, Palmer says they went with Cavu because they had the same integrity as the OSEA team. The investment was a first for Cavu too. Since their inception in 2015, they had primarily worked within food and beverage; OSEA was their first foray into the beauty space.
— Melissa Palmer, Co-Founder & CEO, OSEA share
OSEA used the capital to accelerate product development and deepen their marketing efforts, launching their first brand campaign. Now they’ve set their sights on global expansion. Currently, 98% of their earned revenue comes from North America.
“We have a whole planet to expand in. So, for 2024, that is really what I’m most excited about,” says Palmer. “I love that I get to share something I really believe in every single day. I couldn’t imagine putting so much of myself into something that I didn’t so deeply believe in.”
