If “clean” personal care formulas are good for Baby Boomers, they must be good for babies, too, right? Taking advantage of the trend is Pipette, the Amyris-backed startup that debuted 14 months ago and is under the leadership of Daya Fields, a beauty industry veteran whose career includes stops at multinationals and startups.
 
Pipette’s definition of clean goes beyond the current standards in the beauty and personal care space. Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bans 12 harmful ingredients, Pipette has blacklisted more than 2,000 potential harmful ingredients from its labs and in its products. According to Fields, many retailers are advocating tougher brand guidelines to meet clean standards and are much stricter about who they are adding to their portfolio—because their customers demand it.
 
“We will continue to see the expansion of the clean beauty movement industry with an emphasis on self-care, health and wellness as an equal or lesser benefit in personal care products,” predicts Fields. “Emotional and mental wellness in utilizing products will also be of high consideration for end consumers as well.” 
 
Emotional and mental wellness played a role in Fields’ career choices. She left The Estée Lauder Companies while her father was battling Stage 4 cancer in order to support her parents while her dad went through at-home hospice.
 
“Very tough time for me personally but was glad I took the time to be with him during his end of days,” she recalled. “When I re-emerged into the workplace, small companies with tightly-knit teams with entrepreneurial atmospheres coupled with a startup environment, became very attractive, such as Alaffia.”
 
And Pipette, she said, has many similarities. 
 
“These roles require you to wear many hats, exude strong leadership, be comfortable with calculated risk taking, conduct and reflect on frequent test and learns and be comfortable with a wide variety of functions to grow the brand,” she said.
 
After Amyris conducted a nationwide search for this role focusing on the experiences and expertise they wanted – they reached out to Fields, who says she was excited to join this growing team which is so passionate about both science and consumer transparency. Fields told Happi that the clean beauty movement has become an industry in its own right, and retailers are making varied commitments to dedicated shelf space for clean products selection, implementing clean beauty education and strict guidelines that brands must meet. 
 
“We offer our retail partners, like Credo, Ulta and Target, an affordable, efficacious product line that resonates with their consumers who are Gen Z, Millennials and select Gen X,” she explained. “Our partners respect our commitment to clean, that we are pioneers in this space, and they respect the intensive processes we go through to maintain the highest standards.”
 
In a recent report produced by Nielsen, 42% of consumers said they are willing to pay more for natural, clean or organic products, noted Fields, who added, “Pipette not only uses the safest, cleanest ingredients, but we make sure it’s price accessible with individual products retailing below $30.” 
 
“Being a personal advocate for clean beauty and having years of experience dedicated natural and clean industry, I was confident I could bring a fresh perspective to the brand,” says Fields. “As a mother of three young girls, I know how important it is to feel confident about the choices one is making for what goes into their bodies and on their skin. The challenge of growing a startup and expanding its footprint is one that I have familiarity with and enjoyed greatly while at Alaffia where the head of sales and myself launched the body category product line into 400 Walmart brick and mortar doors and expanded the brand within Walmart from just one department–body–to three adding both baby and multicultural.”
 
Great experience, but translating success and creating something different, too, requires even more insights. Before launching Pipette, the team conducted market research to understand its consumer and just how large the void was in the marketplace for clean, safe and affordable baby care products. Based on this market research, Pipette brought to market a disruptive brand in the beauty and personal care space, according to Fields. 
 
“Since its launch in September 2019, we have delivered the cleanest, nontoxic and efficacious product brand that is great for the whole family to use,” she explained. “Transparency is rooted in our brand’s DNA and we want our consumers to know exactly what they are putting onto their skin and the skin of their loved ones. What makes the brand so unique is that our labs have blacklisted more than 2,000 potential harmful ingredients, using only the purest on the market. We’re constantly seeking ways to innovate products that not only help our families but the environment as well.”

 
The Definition of Clean
 
According to Fields, Pipette has broken barriers by setting a new standard for baby skin care and personal care products. Products are formulated with clean, nontoxic ingredients that deliver efficacious results of moisturization and protection in the support of both baby’s and mother’s skin. Pipette’s hero ingredient, found in all formulas, is squalane, which is derived from sugarcane through sustainable methods and is an ultra-moisturizing molecule that adds weightless hydration. Full disclosure, it’s no coincidence that squalane is produced by parent company Amyris.
 
Fields added that many of Pipette’s products are EWG-verified, Leaping Bunny-approved, dermatologist-tested, pediatrician-approved, hypoallergenic, nontoxic, vegan, and synthetic fragrance-free.
 
“While all of our products are hero’s in my eyes, I would say the Baby Shampoo + Wash is our shining star,” said Fields, who explained this two-in-one product is great for busy moms who need a major multi-tasker when it comes to bath time. 
 
She described the product as versatile, clean and hypoallergenic created for the most sensitive skin and is gentle enough that it can be used daily without drying or irritation. Pipette’s tear-free baby Shampoo + Wash moisturizes hair without irritation thanks to our gentle blend of plant-derived cleansers and emollients. Based on a 24-hour, in-house, clinical study, there was a 157% improvement in skin hydration and 100% showed significant clinical improvement in skin hydration. It also happens to be Pipette’s No. 1 best-selling SKU.

 
Several Hats
 
Fields serves not only as the president of Pipette, she’s also the president at Purecane, Amyris’ sugar-substitute business. While they play in two different categories, Pipette largely in personal care and Purecane in food and beverage, the commitment to transparency and clean ingredients is common to both, according to Fields.
 
“We have found a similar consumer mindset within our target consumer. They want non-toxic, safe solutions in all, if not most, of the consumable choices they make,” insists Fields. “Both brands are targeted toward the alternative, natural, sustainability-focused, clean seeking mass consumer—with the goal of both becoming household names. Each brand is sustainably sourced, of the highest quality and dedicated to leaving us with as little of an environmental impact as possible when it comes to sourcing and packaging.”  

 
Pandemic Planning
 
Only months after Pipette debuted, the COVID19 pandemic hit the US. And like other personal care manufacturers, Pipette did its part to supply hand sanitizer. In fact, the company rushed the introduction of its clean, efficacious hand sanitizer. Originally slated to be launched and distributed in 2021, Fields and her team decided to introduce hand sanitizer in April. That first run of product was produced in 32-oz bottles and were shipped to hospitals in some of the hardest hit COVID-19 areas of New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
 
“Since we’ve launched the hand sanitizer, we saw demand beyond our expectations which prompted us to search for expanded supply capacity,” recalled Fields. “Within the first three days of launch, we had record sales and the demand continues to be very strong. The response has been outstanding, and it was a huge win for the company— to help so many during this uncertain time.”
 
According to a McKinsey, pre-COVID, 85% of beauty shopping was done in retail brick and mortar stores. Due to COVID, with so many temporary closures, beauty and skin care brands had to rely more heavily on e-commerce channels.
 
“Luckily, as we started out digitally native, our path into brick and mortar has been selective and strategic,” explained Fields. “Right now, we are in BuyBuyBaby stores nationwide, and you can also find us on its e-commerce platform. With such a large presence on various e-commerce channels, we were able to not only sustain our business during COVID, but actually experience strong growth.”
 
Now, Pipette is moving forward with traditional brick-and-mortar channels, looking to grow its relationship with Target in a meaningful way. Following a strong performance on Target’s e-commerce channel, the retailer offered Pipette shelf space in 600 Target stores in 2021. 
 

Beyond Borders

Although Pipette’s online presence is respectable and growing, the company continues looking for ways to reach new customers through B&M retailers, strategic international expansion and online partners. This year, Pipette expanded its footprint in Credo, Ulta and Skinstore. Its Amazon presence remains strong, too; Pipette posted its best day on Amazon on Day 2 of Prime Day, October 14. More recently, the company entered China via the Tmall Global Pitch Fest.
 
“It was incredible to dive right in and bring to life Pipette’s story to Alibaba’s panel of judges,” recalled Fields. The brand has been live on Tmall Global for more than a month
 
“We’re excited to be entering our first international market as a brand in such a prestigious, well supported way and can’t wait to bring our clean, safe and effective innovations into the homes of Chinese families,” she said.
 
What’s next for Pipette? Fields is looking to expand offering with products that focus on pregnant mom’s and young mom’s emotional and physical wellness. Based on its own research and industry insights, Millennial consumers, who make up the majority of young families in the US today, want products that are multi-purpose—effective with results and have an emphasis on self-care.
 
What else do consumers want as they turn the page on a dreadful 2021? Pipette executives are, of course, betting on clean beauty, but there will be other changes too, such as a move toward sustainable packaging. With COVID-19 cases soaring in the US, “staycations” will remain in vogue. As a result, beautification will expand both inside and outside the home (within the yard space) and Fields told Happi that she is excited to see how beauty and personal care can capitalize on the always-at-home trend. 
 
Finally, and perhaps, most importantly, social change is here to stay.
 
“There will continue to be a widespread birth of social change initiatives pioneered by beauty brands,” concluded Fields. “This is not just a moment in time; the positive effects will be expanded, longer-term, and I am personally hoping for this outcome.” 
 
Clearly, things are just getting started at this startup.