Why We Invested in Experiment, a Brilliant New Beauty Brand for Chemistry-Curious Consumers

2 min readFeb 7, 2024

Joyance invests in companies that use science and technology to improve the way we live, so naturally, we’re thrilled to announce our first investment of 2024: Experiment Beauty, an ingredient-led, clinically effective, Gen-Z-geared skin essentials brand.

The global skincare market was valued at $104.2 billion USD in 2022 and is projected to grow from $109.71 billion in 2023 to $167.22 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 6.21%. With its fantastic founding team determined to shape the next wave of clinical beauty, Experiment is an exciting brand ushering in the future of skincare. Experiment sees Gen Z as the driver for the next wave of beauty; this new generation of beauty consumers is well-educated in ingredient-led formulations, with a spending power of $360 billion.

Experiment is led by two highly accomplished chemists, CEO Lisa Guerrera and her co-founder/head of product, Emmy Ketcham. Lisa has a degree from Macaulay Honors College in NYC, where she published her thesis on ingredient transparency and misinformation. Lisa’s love of chemistry combined with makeup turned into inspiration for her first startup, See Thru, followed by working as Apostrophe’s Head of Brand. Emmy has a background as a senior chemist driving product and formulation R&D at Benefit Cosmetics and Hatch Beauty. She formulates all the Experiment products in-house, incorporating exciting new active ingredients and as well as reintroducing classic effective actives.

The team approaches formulation and product from a unique science-forward perspective, first identifying the skin issue they’re solving, the chemical actives involved, and where current products on the market fall short. The formulations are built on pre-existing clinical evidence to ensure they’re creating the highest-performing product possible, enabling them to outlast the continuously changing trend cycle in beauty.

In addition to their proven ingredient safety, transparency, and efficacy, Experiment’s ethos resonates strongly with Gen-Z, who are drawn to the brand’s focus on sustainability, inclusivity, and especially, their simplified, futuristic, playful new approach. Lisa’s philosophy is that “science doesn’t work if it’s not fun,” and the brand has cultivated a large and loyal community of highly engaged and enthusiastic “skintellectuals.”

Experiment represents an intersection of many key verticals in the Joyance thesis: with their appealing “science is fun” mantra, the branding is engaging, forward-thinking, and aligns perfectly with our view on marrying consumer product delight with health and technology. We’re elated to support Experiment in exploring our shared perspective — beauty can act as a powerful (and pleasurable) gateway to wellness!

By Investment Principal Jenna Jung

Why We Invested in Experiment, a Brilliant New Beauty Brand for Chemistry-Curious Consumers

Written by Joyance Partners