Meet Karen

3x Founder, Wife, Mom, & the "OG" of Clean Beauty

After selling her pioneering corporate wellness company to United Healthcare and while serving on the Board of 24 Fitness, Karen ignited the clean beauty movement by launching Juice Beauty in 2005. As the first luxury beauty brand to pioneer sustainable, organic, vegan, and cruelty-free formulations, Juice Beauty gained millions of loyal customers nationwide through ULTA Beauty maintaining a 'Top 15 Prestige Skincare Brand" for 15 years under Karen Behnke's leadership. Her innovative product development approach led to five patents and the establishment of a unique farm-to-beauty ingredient supply chain in Sonoma County. She also forged landmark partnerships with Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson. She sold her majority stake to private equity and left the CEO role in 2023,

Featured in The New York Times, Good Morning America, Elle, Marie Claire, InStyle, WWD, Fast Company, and Forbes, Karen is a recognized thought leader in sustainability and entrepreneurship. Her accolades include Goldman Sachs' 100 Most Innovative Entrepreneurs, Bloomberg News Disruptor, Forbes Entrepreneur Award, Glamour's Top EcoLeader, EWG's Sustainability Leader Award, CEW's Woman Founder Award, San Francisco and North Bay Area Entrepreneur of the Year, and Western Michigan University's Distinguished Alumni award.

Founder of Juice Beauty

In 2004, driven by her passion for environmentalism and wellness, Karen acquired the name "Juice Beauty" and revolutionized clean beauty. Her vision was shaped by early experiences: witnessing Michigan's devastating PBB spill, overcoming a rare blood disorder, and seeking healthy skincare solutions during her pregnancies in her 40s.

Working with scientists for five years, Karen pioneered a breakthrough: replacing conventional beauty water bases with antioxidant-rich organic juices. This innovative approach, proven through clinical testing, delivered superior results and earned multiple patents. Under her leadership as Founder & CEO until 2023, Juice Beauty grew into a top 15 skincare brand at ULTA Beauty nationwide, establishing the Farm to Beauty concept at her Sonoma County farm. By 2023, Juice Beauty was crowned Best Organic Brand by InStyle, having received hundreds of product awards over the years.

After nearly two decades of innovation, Karen sold the majority stake to PE firm Invus while remaining on the board. Invus hired a new CEO in 2023.

Organic Partnerships

In 2015, Karen Behnke forged a groundbreaking partnership with Gwyneth Paltrow, where Juice Beauty invested in Goop and became its exclusive skincare developer. Paltrow joined as Juice Beauty's Creative Director of Makeup, co-creating the award-winning Goop by Juice Beauty collection and accelerating the clean beauty movement together.

Kate Hudson and Karen's story began through Cindy Crawford's introduction, blossoming into a 17-year friendship rooted in their shared passion for wellness. This culminated in Hudson's 2022 collaboration with Juice Beauty to launch her signature product. Hudson remained a devoted brand ambassador until Karen's CEO transition in 2023.

“I feel a genuine connection to Karen. She was the one who opened my eyes to clean and green beauty in 2007 before it was a thing. She came to my house and detoxed my bathroom of conventional chemical brands. That was when I realized that I had to think differently about my beauty regimen just as I was already doing in other areas of my life. It’s exciting to finally be able to create a product together."

Kate Hudson, Harpers Bazaar

Juice Beauty Brand Glimpse

Nestled in Sonoma County, Karen Behnke's organic vineyard and olive grove became the heart of Juice Beauty's Farm to Beauty initiative. Beyond supplying premium grapes and olives for product formulations, this stunning property doubled as a creator retreat, hosting wellness gatherings and poolside yoga sessions as well as the innovation behind the 5 skincare patents that Karen led and filed. The estate perfectly merged Karen's vision for sustainable beauty and wellness.