Launch Date: May 2021
Geography: New York City, NY, US
Founder: Rebecca Zhou, Founder + CEO
Executive Team: Stephanie DiSturco, Chief Revenue Officer
Notable Investors:
2025 Full Year Projected Revenue: $5M - $8M, according to industry estimates
Primary Category: Bodycare
Funding: Angel Investment
Primary Distribution Channel: DTC
Other Distribution Channel: Prestige
Key Retail Partner: Sephora
2025 Projected Offline Distribution Points: 400
Soft Services is the first targeted bodycare company dedicated to addressing common skin concerns beyond hygiene, moisturizing, and hair removal. This is not your face's skincare: the brand uses performance ingredients at percentages strong enough for skin concerns on the body, for everything from dry skin to keratosis pilaris, irritation, ingrown hairs, PIH, discoloration, body acne, and so much more.
Soft Services uses performance ingredients, bespoke formulas, and a sustainable approach to offer solutions where there are none and answers the important questions people are asking about their skin below the face (check out its platform Mass Index, which offers education on body skincare). The brand launched in 2021 with three products focusing on smooth skin: the Buffing Bar, Smoothing Solution, and Carea Cream. Since launching, the brand has expanded its line to include a wide range of solutions-led products to tackle every skin concern from the neck down.
Insights: Rebecca Zhou, Founder + CEO
Why now and why you?
Why now: The bodycare category is undergoing a critical transformation, and Soft Services is at the forefront of this shift. In a landscape dominated by face-forward skincare, we've carved out a distinct white space—offering education, product innovation, and performance-based solutions for body skin. 2024 marked a breakout year: our partnership with Sephora helped redefine bodycare merchandising at scale, fueling 4x-5x growth and expanding our reach to 300 storefronts nationwide. With continued innovation—including our viral Theraplush hand cream, the launch of Software Update (the first overnight retinol serum for the body), and scent-driven storytelling collaborations with our best-selling Buffing Bar—we are breaking category norms and redefining what bodycare can be.
Why us: Soft Services embodies the NEXT50 spirit—relentlessly reimagining how to create and deliver value in an overlooked category. We aren’t just building a product line; we’re building a knowledge ecosystem. Through The Mass Index, we are answering under-answered questions and offering visual, accessible education for all skin types. Our formula innovation, user experience, and educational platform have created a ripple effect: changing how consumers think about their skin from the neck down. With proven traction, industry validation, and a distinct vision for scale, Soft Services is not just ready for the next stage—we’re shaping what that next stage looks like.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
Our competitive advantage comes from being one of the first to truly modernize bodycare—not just in terms of the products we offer, but in how we think about the entire experience. We focus on delivering real solutions that meet today’s needs, and we approach every aspect—from product design to user experience—with a modern lens. We’re not just creating bodycare; we’re reimagining how people engage with it, making it more intuitive, effective, and relevant for today’s consumer.
What are you most proud of accomplishing to date?
I’m most proud of how we’ve helped shift the cultural conversation around traditionally taboo body skin concerns. We’ve taken issues that were once associated with shame or embarrassment and redefined them as something to care for—proudly and even joyfully. It’s incredibly rewarding to see products like anti-aging hand care (our Theraplush Overnight Treatment) not only be embraced for personal use but also gifted to others as a thoughtful, desirable gesture. That transformation—turning discomfort into empowerment and self-care into something celebratory—is something I’m deeply proud of. It speaks to the larger impact we’re making by changing how people relate to their bodies and to each other.
What is the one thing you wish someone had told you?
I wish someone had told me just how freeing—and powerful—it is to build a company around your own values. One of the most influential pieces of advice I came across early on was actually from reading Let My People Go Surfing by the founders of Patagonia. The book taught me that you don’t have to follow a conventional blueprint to build something meaningful. You can prioritize integrity and quality in your products, while also thinking radically about how you grow and support your team. That mindset shaped Soft Services from day one: serve real needs with real care and don’t be afraid to do things differently—both in what you make and how you make it.
What would you tell your past self before starting this journey?
I'd remind myself that the roller coaster is the point. Starting a company is full of highs and lows, but everything—every challenge, every small win—is part of the learning. Having a growth mindset is everything. As long as you're moving forward and doing better today than you did yesterday, you're on the right path. That perspective helps put both the wins and the setbacks into context and makes the whole journey feel more expansive, more human, and more worth it.
What does success look like in the next 3-5 years?
Success in 3-5 years looks like Soft Services becoming a true leader in bodycare—both in product and in education. It means customers everywhere feel confident and empowered to care for their body skin because the solutions they need are accessible, effective, and emotionally resonant. It means wide-scale distribution, deeper partnerships, a more expansive product roadmap—and a real shift in how people perceive and value their own skin. Ultimately, success is seeing our mission ripple out: reshaping the bodycare conversation and helping people feel good in their skin, at scale.
What's one industry trend that is overhyped, and what's being overlooked?
One trend I think is overhyped is the “everything shower” and the broader idea that more is more. We’ve already seen in facial skincare how overwhelming routines can lead to consumer fatigue, and I think we’re at risk of repeating that cycle in bodycare—a category that many people are still just getting familiar with. Pushing overly complicated routines on new users can be alienating. What’s being overlooked is simplicity: helping people build sustainable, approachable rituals that feel good and fit easily into their lives.
What’s often overlooked is what happens at the point of purchase: the customer experience post-purchase. I think brands should place more emphasis on helping customers get the most out of the products they’ve bought. It’s the brand’s responsibility to set customers up for success—not just by selling them a product, but by following up, educating them, and supporting them throughout their journey. The purchase is really just the midpoint; the real impact happens in how the product fits into their lives and delivers value over time.
How do you think the industry needs to evolve?
As the bodycare category becomes more established, I think the industry needs to evolve beyond just products and brands to build a more comprehensive ecosystem. In other beauty categories like hair, there’s already a robust infrastructure—salons, services, professionals, and even celebrity stylists—that supports and elevates the category. Bodycare, by comparison, is still in the early stages of that kind of growth. I see an opportunity for the industry to invest more in services, retail experiences, and professional support that can help bodycare mature into a fully realized category. For example, while retailers like Sephora are starting to create more space for bodycare, there's still room for deeper integration and specialized service offerings that legitimize and expand the category’s presence in the broader beauty landscape.
If you could wave a magic wand, what one wish would you make for your business?
I’d want everyone to try a Soft Services product just once. Because once you experience the formulas—the way they work, how they feel—you understand the difference. That single moment of effectiveness is all it takes to believe in what we’re building.
