Canadian climate-adaptive skincare brand Atmosphera is entering the US market. Founded in 2016, the company recently went through a restructuring period last year as Katya Johnson and Christi Hucks joined the company as co-CEOs. Johnson and Hucks are both former Beautycounter managing directors. Mia Davis, former Beautycounter Head of Mission, Health and Environment, will serve as Chief Impact Officer; and Steve Raack, former Beautycounter COO, will serve as COO.
As the company enters the US market, it is bringing with it a new approach to direct selling, in what some are calling a “rehabilitation” or “reinvention” of the direct sales model. The hybrid model combines the modern affiliate approach with a direct sales scaffolding that allows sellers to share and earn commissions or build organizations and communities. Sellers pay an annual fee of $50 and receive 20% off personal purchases, but are not required to purchase products or carry inventory to receive retail sales commissions.
In a conversation with Beauty Independent, Johnson said, “We want to be the darling of the [direct sales] channel,” and cited e-commerce customer retention rates of over 68%.
The company is also doubling down on sustainability as it funds a project to collect more than 20,000 pounds of plastic waste from waterways in its first year of US business, and will provide resources and guidance for its sellers on how to create clean-up efforts in their own neighborhoods.
“When you frame the question around public and environmental health, you get really strong answers, and that’s regardless of the demographics, but people don’t always know that the safety of the ingredients is intricately connected to climate and to the supply chain,” Davis told Beauty Independent. “I don’t necessarily believe that we have to meet people where they are all the time. We can bring the energy, we can bring the knowledge and we can bring a new way of doing business to our partners, up and down the supply chain.”
