WELCOME
TO ARCAEA
(AR-KAY-UH)
BUILDING A NEW FOUNDATION FOR THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY
Our name comes from the root “ancient” and “to lead the way,” a paradox that acknowledges the fundamental premise of Arcaea: To look to nature’s most powerful and primordial technology to engineer a more stable future. To go forward, we must go back. Through the lens of biology, we seek to cultivate an appreciation of beauty in one another the same way we are able to appreciate beauty in nature: free from ideals or comparison. Arcaea is also a nod to archaea, a primary kingdom of life that ironically, was only recently discovered. Scientists believe archaea are the living building blocks of life.
THE FUTURE WE SEE
A BEAUTY INDUSTRY THAT SEES ITSELF AS PART OF NATURE
Today’s products depend on ingredients extracted from petrochemicals, plants, and animals. For the past 200 years, these ingredients shaped the entire supply chain, including formulation, claims, and marketing. Biology is the study of nature. Yet today, when we think about “natural” ingredients, the beauty industry is mostly still focused on plant-based sourcing, which is a small part of the tree of life. With advances in biotechnology, we can now access the rest of the tree of life ethically and sustainably. Our approach relies on the power of biology to not only create a non-extractive future for ingredients, but also to access previously unimaginable product potential.
OUR STORY
WE BEGIN WHERE SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION MEETS CREATIVITY
What does it take for something new to impact as many people as possible? I’ve spent the last decade considering this question. I’m a passionate beauty consumer and MIT chemical engineer, focused on translating innovation in beauty through brands and products.
Over my career, I’ve witnessed growing challenges and limitations in the ingredients we use. I became inspired by biology because it presents entirely new possibilities and solutions to the big problems facing our industry. To realize this, we must create new tools and cultivate a different way of thinking. A vision of what is possible in beauty began to emerge; this vision became Arcaea.
Jasmina Aganovic, CEO
