Melanie Bender
Founding president of Versed, the under-$25 clean skincare line incubated by Who What Wear's Clique Brands and launched in 2019. Bender has since gone on to lead Naturium and is one of the most influential operator-builders in mass clean skincare.
"Clean beauty doesn't have to cost $90."
— Melanie Bender
Bender ran Versed as founding president from its 2019 launch — an under-$25, clean skincare line incubated by Katherine Power's Clique Brands and launched into Target as a mass-market clean-prestige hybrid.
She later moved to Naturium as president (acquired by E.l.f. in 2023 for $355M), becoming one of the most-cited operator-builders in mass clean skincare.
Mass distribution is the only honest scale test.
Clean beauty without an accessible price ladder isn't clean beauty.
- 2019Launches Versed at Target as founding president
- 2021Joins Naturium as president
- 2023Naturium acquired by E.l.f. Beauty for $355M
Melanie Bender on Building Mass Clean Skincare
interviewGlossyE.l.f. Beauty Acquires Naturium for $355M
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