RéVive Skincare Marks 25 Years of Biotechnology-based Beauty

Skin is under attack from environmental agressors like UV radiation and free radicals. And Greg Brown, founder of RéVive skincare is still searching for biotechnology-based answers to skin's most nagging poblems. ReVive marks its 25th anniversary this year, but Brown, citing a deteriorating environment and other external factors, says more work needs to be done.

ReVive got its start in 1997 when William Rutter, the founder of Chiron Corp., and Brown joined forces to create RéVive. In its early days, the brand was championed by former Nieman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky and ReVive remains on Neiman Marcus beauty counters to this day. That kind of staying power can't be said for ReVive ownership—over the years, the brand was acquired by Gurwich Partners which later sold the brand to Shiseido as part of the Laura Mercier deal. A year later, in 2017, Tengram Partners acquired ReVive and, well, a revival was underway.

In 2018, Brown joined forces with new CEO Elana Drell-Szyfer. During her watch, sales doubled and profitability restored. YoY growth is reportedly in the high-double digits. With several years of gains under their belts, Drell-Szyfer and Brown are looking to expand into China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK. ReVive's US presence has changed too, as retailers like Barneys filed for bankruptcy and Neiman's restructured. Today, Bluemercury is ReVive's biggest retail partner.

But despite all the changes, Brown is convinced that effective skincare is more important than ever. 

“Skincare will be really important as far as protecting us against the onslaught of things that are going to come,” he told WWD. “We call it Project Protect. Free radicals, UV rays, gamma rays — all are going to become more aggressive.”