Long-time wellness advocate Martha Stewart, now 84, has launched Elm Biosciences — a clean, clinically backed skincare brand co-created with Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali. How will rigorous science and minimalist ethos converge?
Martha Stewart has never been one to follow trends. She does tend to start them, though. And with the launch of her new skincare venture, Elm Biosciences, she may be doing just that. On paper, it reads like the next logical step for the 84-year-old mogul whose name has become synonymous with elevated living: a minimalist, science-backed skincare line built around the principles of efficacy, longevity, and “inside-out” beauty. But the question looming over its September debut is less about whether it will sell — early projections suggest it could hit $10 million in its first year — and more about whether Elm truly meets the standards of today’s burgeoning clean beauty industry.
Unlike many celebrity beauty brands built around a signature scent or the promise of youth in a glass bottle, Elm is entering with a thesis: that the gap between dermatological science and skincare marketing is too wide, and the average consumer, especially women over 40, deserves products formulated with clinical-grade precision and real-world credibility. “Elm was created to solve a clear problem: the science has evolved, but most skincare hasn’t,” Elm co-founder, Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali, a board-certified dermatologist who has also developed for brands like Rhode, which was recently acquired by E.l.f. Beauty, said in a statement. “Our goal is to bring novel molecules and complexes to skincare that reset the expectations we have for what products can do. While Martha has always led in ‘farm to table’, Elm is our answer to ‘lab to consumer.’”
That pitch might raise eyebrows in a market already saturated with buzzy biotech claims. But Stewart and Bhanusali are betting that their approach will win out. Developed over the course of five years and vetted by more than 350 dermatologists, Elm’s initial offerings include just two products: the $135 A3O Elemental Serum and a $50 supplement called Inner Dose. Together, they target the key visible and environmental factors that drive skin aging. Unlike trend-chasing drops that flood social media and fizzle in dermatology offices, Elm’s launch strategy signals a more grown-up, controlled approach.
“It became a true friendship,” Bhanusali said of working with Stewart. “There was an intellectual curiosity about her… Shortly thereafter, when I was opening my office, she was actually the first person ever in my office before it actually ever opened.” Over the years, he created dozens of prototype formulas based on her feedback and skin responses. “I’ve sent her more studies than I can count at this point… [Martha] has access to anything and everything… and the idea is that we want good quality, efficacious products to help us become who we’re supposed to be and live how we want to live.”
What “clean” might actually mean at Elm
The word “clean” carries different weight depending on the brand. At Elm, it seems to be more of a philosophy than a checklist. The label hasn’t announced EWG certifications, nor a laundry list of banned ingredients. Yet the formulation approach speaks to a pared-back, intentional ethos. “What I paid attention to with our product is the texture of it, the color of it, the scent of it,” Stewart told The Wall Street Journal. “There are serums out there that really have too much, too much scent, too much perfume. This is a delightful concoction.”
The A3O Elemental Serum uses a proprietary blend — Elm’s A3O complex — alongside hyaluronic acid, squalane, vitamin E, and blue tansy. The brand claims these ingredients support skin texture, brightness, and collagen synthesis without the typical layering of unnecessary emulsifiers or irritants. The Inner Dose supplement offers a lineup of botanicals and micronutrients commonly associated with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits: organic turmeric, holy basil, vitamin D3, astaxanthin, and Polypodium leucotomos. It’s an inside-out model that closely mirrors Stewart’s public health regimen, from her green juice habit to her open embrace of minimally invasive procedures like Botox and filler. “It all goes together, and it’s very important. What we eat is extremely important. What we drink is extremely important,” Stewart said. “To keep in good health and [achieve] successful aging, you have to pay attention to what you ingest.”
Still, the brand has yet to publish any peer-reviewed clinical studies or full INCI lists that would allow watchdog organizations to vet the formulas’ claims. What Elm does have is a large, vocal network of dermatologists supporting the brand — not just as endorsers, but as contributors to product development. “We have hundreds of dermatologists — I don’t think that has ever happened before — that are complementing our research endeavors, giving us advice, who’ve utilized some of these molecules, or even suggest new ones that they’ve come across that we haven’t,” said Bhanusali. It’s a nod to crowdsourced R&D, with the goal of building a pipeline of products that are science-led but not overwhelming in number or scope.
Stewart has been vocal about her dislike for complicated routines. “You don’t need 100 different products to put on your face,” she said. “You need about three amazing products.” In addition to the debut serum and supplement, she hinted that a night cream and cleanser could follow, along with a tonic or toner. “Cleanliness, that’s one thing that I pay very close attention to,” she said.
Positioning in a shifting market
Elm arrives at an inflection point in skincare where trends toward “clean,” “clinical,” and “minimalist” are increasingly intersecting. Consumers no longer want just pretty packaging and vague promises; they want efficacy backed by experts. At the same time, scrutiny around greenwashing and unregulated claims in the wellness industry is at an all-time high. Brands like Tata Harper, Dr. Dennis Gross, and The Ordinary have carved out strongholds by rooting their lines in clinical science. Others like Drunk Elephant and Youth to the People have succeeded by pairing transparency with a more lifestyle-friendly aesthetic.
But Elm has something those brands don’t: the cross-generational credibility of Martha Stewart and the strategic clinical access of Bhanusali. The brand is being distributed direct-to-consumer only, at least for now, which reinforces the idea of building trust slowly and without noise. With Stewart as muse and customer zero, Elm targets a cohort of users who may feel underrepresented in current skincare marketing: people who want evidence, not just allure.
“I look at the people [who] come into my office every single day who are frustrated, who feel like their voices aren’t heard,” Bhanusali said. “They’re inundated with expensive procedures or expensive products that don’t really have any basis for what the claims may be. What we wanted to do is speak to those people, the people in our offices, the people that we know, we love, we care about, and really provide something for them.”
Whether or not Elm meets the strictest definitions of “clean beauty” may, ultimately, be beside the point. In an industry defined by hyperbole, perhaps the cleanest move is offering less — and delivering.
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