Explore the full 2022 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 528 organizations whose efforts are reshaping their businesses, industries, and the broader culture. We’ve selected the firms making the biggest impact with their initiatives across 52 categories, including the most innovative style, wellness, and design companies.
In 2022, the world’s idea of beauty is—wonderfully and refreshingly—more all-encompassing than ever before. And the beauty industry, comprising makeup, perfumes, skincare, and haircare, has been inspired to take note. Innovative companies new and established are celebrating all colors, genders, shapes, and styles, and demolishing outdated norms and boundaries in the process. Boy Smells is a gender-blending company that refutes the binary of male and female in every aspect of its branding, pairing its “boyish” name with signature pink packaging and refusing to classify products with any allusions to men or women. Atticus, a skincare company, caters to the oft-neglected market of men who want to pamper their skin and chase that dewy glow. And Eadem created a dark-spot serum specifically formulated for women of color, who often struggle to find products designed for the unique concerns of melanin-rich skin. The industry also made strides this year in its ongoing mission to become greener, more ethical, and more sustainable. Beauty giant L’Oréal unveiled a new hair-wash system for salons that could save up to a billion gallons of water per year. Hourglass Cosmetics, meanwhile, engineered the first-ever vegan, cruelty-free replacement for carmine—a ubiquitous ingredient that gives makeup a brilliant, rich red hue—which was historically made by killing and crushing thousands of female insects. Companies are even exploring beauty in the digital realm. Legacy company Dior helped lead the charge, becoming the first to partner with metaverse platform Zepeto to release a line of all-virtual makeup looks for avatars.
1. Eadem
For formulating a skincare serum uniquely for women of color
Eadem was founded in 2020 as a skincare brand for women of color by women of color. It was the brainchild of Alice Lin Glover and Marie Kouadio Amouzame, who met while working at Google. While trading beauty tips discovered in French pharmacies and Asian markets, they realized just how hard they had to look to find products suited for their specific skincare needs. In May 2021, Eadem (Latin for “the same” or “all”) launched its flagship dark-spot serum with “Smart Melanin” technology, formulated specifically for more melanin-rich skin tones. While hyperpigmentation and sun spots are often top concerns for people of color, many products that claim to treat these aren’t tested on skin with melanin or use harsh bleaching agents and other toxic chemicals, which women of color are exposed to at higher rates than white women. Eadem offers clean beauty that’s tested on a range of skin shades. Black- and Asian-owned, Eadem has already earned awards from Glossier, Sephora, and Johnson & Johnson with Neutrogena’s funding and incubator programs.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
