Launch Date: October 2016
Geography: Burlington, VT, US
Founders:
Executive Team:
Board Members:
Notable Investors:
2026 Full Year Projected Revenue: $75M - $100M, according to industry estimates
Primary Category: Makeup
Other Category: Skincare
Funding: Venture Capital
Primary Distribution Channel: DTC
Other Distribution Channel: Prestige
Key Retail Partners:
Key Market: United States
2026 Projected Offline Distribution Points: 500 - 1,000
I founded Ogee to solve a problem in beauty I couldn’t ignore. At home, I kept an organic kitchen. But at work, I was helping develop best-selling products for some of the biggest makeup brands. These formulas relied on synthetic fillers, harsh preservatives, and shortcuts I wouldn’t use on my own skin. That disconnect became impossible to justify. I knew there had to be a better way.
With Ogee, we set out to prove that beauty can be both uncompromisingly clean and remarkably effective. Every product is made with certified organic ingredients, backed by third-party review and full traceability from field to bottle. Our entire line is certified to the NSF/ANSI 305 Organic Personal Care Standards, which requires at least 70% organic content and adherence to strict natural standards.
From our viral Sculpted Face Sticks to our high-performance skincare, Ogee has grown into a community of people who expect more. People who no longer want to choose between purity and performance. We didn’t just set out to clean up beauty. We set out to elevate it. This is what it looks like to hold beauty to a higher standard.
Insights: Abbott Stark, Co-Founder + Chief Product Officer
Why now and why you?
There’s a growing urgency for consumer products that are safer for our bodies and better for the environment we all share. People are searching for options that aren’t just cleaner in name but truly clean in formulation.
At the same time, ingredient innovation has caught up with the moment. We now have access to plant-based alternatives to synthetic ingredients that we could only dream about at the turn of the century. For the first time, we can make organic products that really work and hold their own in terms of performance.
What sets us apart is the passion and persistence we’ve brought to this space. The organic certification process is complex, rigorous, and often abandoned by brands because of how much effort it demands. But we’ve leaned into that challenge. Our team has developed a deep understanding of the standards, the science, and the process—and we’ve built something meaningful from it. It’s gotten to the point where I’m genuinely inspired by the products we’re able to create. I believe in them, and I love what we’re building.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
Ogee’s competitive advantage lies in the intersection of commitment, certification, and consciousness. While many brands market themselves as clean, Ogee operates at a higher standard. We formulate to the most stringent organic criteria in beauty and have scaled that integrity across skincare, complexion, and color.
Our entire product line is certified to the NSF/ANSI 305 Organic Personal Care Standards, which requires a minimum of 70% organic content and full ingredient traceability. This certification is complex and often avoided. We’ve embraced it, building a team that understands the technical, operational, and creative challenges of organic formulation. That work has become a platform for innovation.
We’ve also created a brand that resonates across generations, rooted in shared values of health, sustainability, efficacy, and design. Our customers know what we stand for and trust that we will deliver. No other brand combines certified organic formulation, high-performance results, and a luxury experience at scale. We have built something that is truly difficult to replicate.
Ogee is not following clean beauty trends. We are leading with systems, standards, and a long-term commitment to raising the bar.
What’s your proudest accomplishment to date?
I’m most proud that we, as founders and as a collective team, have combined our passion and expertise to bring certified organic beauty to scale. Together, we’ve sold millions of certified organic products to hundreds of thousands of people. Every one of those formulas is made with ingredients derived from plants—not petroleum-based, nonrenewable, or potentially harmful alternatives.
The ripple effect of those sales is hard to fully measure, but we know the impact is meaningful. We’re delivering real benefits to the people using our products, and we’re doing it in a way that respects the environment we all share.
What also makes me proud is the validation we’ve received, not just from customers, but from national retailers who have embraced Ogee and helped accelerate our growth. Their support is a powerful testament to the performance and design of our products and to the trust we’ve built with our community.
It’s hard to believe sometimes that we’re living the dream: making meaningful change in an industry that needs it and having so much fun doing it.
What is the one thing you wish someone had told you?
I wish someone had told me that building a brand like this would require the same care and complexity as formulating a certified organic product. Every part of the business—including hiring the right team, finding aligned investors, managing suppliers, communicating our values— demands constant intention, innovation, and integrity. We don’t just strive once. We have to keep striving, at every level, all the time.
We always say, “enjoy the journey,” but I’ve come to realize the journey is everything. With a living, breathing brand like Ogee, the work never really finishes. Even as the vision becomes clearer and the brand gains traction, the work becomes more dynamic, not less.
What makes it all worthwhile is the purpose behind it. We didn’t take the easy road. We chose the path that demanded more because we believed it would matter more. And it does. That’s what I would go back and tell myself: It’s going to be harder than you think and more rewarding than you can imagine. Because in this industry, the destination isn’t a finish line. It’s a standard you keep raising.
What would you tell your past self before starting this journey?
Just go for it. I wish I had done it sooner. Waiting made sense at the time. It all worked out to where we are now.
What does success look like in the next 3-5 years?
Success means scaling Ogee with intention. Over the next 3-5 years, we envision a thriving expansion into national retail, supported by a passionate, mission-aligned team of sales professionals and educators who carry the Ogee message into stores and onto counters across the country.
Our goal is to ensure that every retail associate and customer who encounters Ogee not only understands what makes us different but feels inspired by our commitment to certified organic performance, sustainability, and elevated design.
Beyond national distribution, success also means building the operational infrastructure and partnerships that will support our next stage of growth, including expansion into international markets and highly curated, tastemaking retailers that align with our values.
We want Ogee to be the brand that proves certified organic beauty can scale without compromise; that it can live in the most elevated retail environments, speak to the most discerning customers, and continue to lead the clean category with integrity, efficacy, and aspiration.
What's one industry trend that is overhyped, and what's being overlooked?
One overhyped trend is the rise of third-party ingredient-rating platforms that claim to be objective but often lack meaningful safety science, context around ingredient use, or clear processing standards. Their mission is well-intentioned. Consumers do need help making sense of confusing ingredient lists, but the rating systems can be misleading.
Some ingredients are flagged not because they pose a real risk in cosmetic use but simply because they shouldn’t be eaten. That kind of logic doesn’t hold up. At the same time, certain ingredients get a green light despite questionable origins or environmental impact just because they passed outdated animal testing or unrealistic dosing studies.
As some of these platforms mature, they begin to soften their standards to make room for more brands, which weakens their credibility and undermines consumer trust.
What’s being overlooked is true formulation context in how ingredients are processed, how they function in combination, and how they perform within a rigorous certification framework. At Ogee, we believe real transparency comes from traceable sourcing, certified organic formulation, and understanding beauty beyond binary scores.
How do you think the industry needs to evolve?
The beauty industry needs to evolve from marketing-driven clean claims to science-backed clean systems. “Clean” has become a vague term, used inconsistently, often without accountability, and frequently without meaningful standards behind it.
To move forward, the industry needs to embrace real transparency, not just in ingredients but in processing, sourcing, environmental impact, and performance. That means raising the bar with third-party certification, traceable supply chains, and full formulation context, not just isolated ingredient scores.
The industry also needs to rethink what luxury means. It’s no longer just about packaging or exclusivity. True luxury today includes sustainability, health consciousness, and integrity in every part of the product lifecycle. We believe certified organic beauty deserves a seat at the luxury table, and the industry should evolve to make space for it.
Finally, there needs to be more support for the operational and scientific complexity of doing things the right way. Clean and certified products are harder to make. But if the goal is better products for people and the planet, we need to create an environment that supports innovation with values, not just volume.
If you could wave a magic wand, what one wish would you make for your business?
With a magic wand in hand, I’d instantly fill every open role on our team with the right people, fully trained, aligned with our mission, and ready to hit the ground running.
But as tempting as that is, I know that the early days of onboarding and those moments of observation, learning, and discovery are where the real magic often happens. Fresh eyes bring new perspectives. New voices challenge assumptions. And the process of growing together creates space for innovation, improvement, and stronger culture.
So maybe I wouldn’t wave that wand after all because I’ve seen what happens when talented people join Ogee. I’ve seen how the right team can take an ambitious idea and turn it into something far bigger than any one person could have imagined.
What I wish for most is the continued opportunity to meet those people. To grow with them and to keep building a brand that reflects the combined strength, creativity, and commitment of everyone who touches it.
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