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Beautycounter in the Eye of the Beholder

How Gregg Renfrew wrestled her company back from the supple palms of private equity.

Gregg Renfrew
The Beautycounter brand will live on thanks to Gregg Renfrew and a group of investors who purchased the entity’s name and assets, formulas, etcetera, at a deep discount. Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for goop
Rachel Strugatz
April 24, 2024

Gregg Renfrew, founder and C.E.O. of Beautycounter, burst onto the scene in 2013 with a Mary Kay for the new generation. Instead of makeup parties and pink Cadillac prizes, Renfrew wanted to create a multi-level marketing beauty company for people who wouldn’t be caught dead buying lipstick from their neighbor’s floral couch-filled living room. Renfrew, a natural marketer, positioned Beautycounter as a chic Avon for millennials—more premium, more clean, more influencer-friendly, more Goopesque, etcetera. (Naturally, Renfrew is pals with Gwyneth Paltrow.)