Honest Co.

Founder & s: Christopher Gavigan, Brian Lee, Sean Kane, Jessica Alba
Key people: Jessica Alba (Founder & CEO), Derrick Dinglasan (Director of Product Management & UX), Mikhael Felker (Director of Information Security), Joshua Franklin (Manager , Search Marketing), Christopher Gavigan (Co-Founder & Chief Products Officer) and Sean Kane (Co-Founder & President)
Number of employees : 251 – 500

The growing product line is insisted from eco-friendly diapers (with super stylish designs) and a natural line of Bath, skincare, home cleaning, and organic nutritional supplement products all packed in convenient bundles that can be customized, personalized, and convenientlyooting whenever needed. The Honest Company is a one-stop-shop for the safest products, best service, and most Useful tools and information for today’s modern families, with the ultimate goal of redefining the family brand by helping create healthier, happier homes, and a better future for all children. Together we can make it better.

History

Alba was inspired by the 2008 birth of her first child Honor and her own history of childhood illnesses to create a company that provided an alternative to the pre va lent baby products with ingredients such as petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances. She was compelled to become serious about this venture when one of her mother’s product recommendations caused her child a welt outbreak. It took Alba three years to find her business partners-chief executive officer Brian Lee, chief operating officer Sean Kane, and chief product officer Christopher Gavigan. Despite advice that she should start small with a singular focus, Alba launched the company in 2011 with 17 products. While building her company, Alba has lobbied the United States Congress to make the testing of children’s clothing and toys for chemical inputs more stringent.

2013 sales were $50 million. In November 2014, the company had 275 employees and was projected to do $150 million in sales. 80% of its sales were online via a monthly subscription service with the remainder being done in department stores and discount warehouses.The company eventually totaled $170 million in sales in 2014.

Honest raised $70 million from venture capitalists in the summer of 2014 in preparation for an imminent initial public offering. The financing put a value on the company of $1 billion. Prior to the 2014 round of financing led by Wellington Management Company, the company had raised $52 million in financing from ICONIQ Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Institutional Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. As of August 2014, the company’s products were available at retail outlets in the United States and Canada. The company had plans to expand to England and Australia, but the summer 2014 funding was primarily to prepare for a launch in China. A company press release said the funding was to aid product development and expansion.

Whole Foods and Costco were The Honest Company’s initial retail distributors. The company began selling in Target Corporation on June 15, 2014.Other stores that carried the company’s products by mid 2014 includ ed Buy Buy Baby and Nordstrom. By the end of the third quarter of 2014, the company carried 90 products. Its leading selling product was diapers, at the time.

In July 2015, Jessica Alba announced that the Honest Co. would be moving their headquarters from 2700 Pennsylvania Avenue in Santa Monica to the top three floors of 12130 Millennium Drive in the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles in early 2016. The following month, it announced a new round of funding generated an additional $100 million of venture capital, implying a valuation of $1.7 billion. In late 2015, the company acquired Alt12 Apps, the makers of popular apps such as Baby Bump, Pink Pad and Kidfolio.

Honest is known for its eco-friendly products. The company has a strong charitable mission that is likened to Toms Shoes, Warby Parker, and Etsy. It donates products, revenues and labor. The company also touts its Honestly Free Guarantee that it does not use “health-compromising chemicals or compounds”, including a specific list of products it promises to never allow in its products. As of August 2015, the company was thriving without having ever employed traditional media such as print ads, television or billboards.

In March 2017, The Honest Company announced that Clorox veteran Nick Vlahos would replace Brian Lee as Chief Executive Officer. Vlahos worked at other retail brands, including Burt’s Bees, Brita and Green Works. Brian Lee remains on the board in an advisory role.