Grown Alchemist Replaces Kiehl’s in Equinox Locker Rooms

Emily Burns
·3 min read

Grown Alchemist is growing with Equinox.

The luxury fitness-meets-lifestyle company will replace its current Kiehl’s locker room offerings with Grown Alchemist products, as well as introduce the brand to its facial and body spa treatments. The locker room products will include the brand’s Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser, Hydra-Restore Day Cream, Energize Body Cleanser, Restorative Body Cream, Hydra-Restore Shampoo and Hydra-Restore Conditioner, though more beauty-centric offerings could be added in the future, according to the team.

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Grown Alchemist x Equinox products.
Grown Alchemist x Equinox products.

Equinox isn’t taking the launch lightly. Ahead of bringing Grown Alchemist to all of its club and spa locations, the Equinox team first tested the products at the Hudson Yards, New York City-based hotel starting in 2019. Since then there has been an overwhelmingly positive response from guests.

“[Equinox is] a luxury experiential brand and so what goes within our four walls and locker rooms is something that is of higher standards and a very rigorous development process,” said Julia Klim, Equinox’s vice president of strategic partnerships and business development. “We went through a very rigorous process that lasted more than a couple of years talking to a lot of different partners. No one really felt right. While we were doing this, Grown Alchemist continued to just get absolutely incredible feedback from our guests at Equinox Hotel.”

This feedback, along with the synergy between the two, particularly around holistic health and longevity, made it easy for the brands to come together. In the way of longevity, Equinox recently launched a $40,000-a-year personalized optimization program.

“Equinox is on its own journey spearheading its innovative approach in longevity and performance enhancements,” said Anna Teal, chief executive officer of Grown Alchemist. “We’ve been on our own exciting journey to talk about how you optimize your skin function and your skin health and how you use bioactive ingredients to do that. It just felt like there was a meeting of minds on that story.”

Klim added: “We actually joked in the first meeting. It was like we were the same brand. We had the concept of ‘two brands, one heart’ because we both talk about maximizing people’s potential and the completely inside-out approach to health.”

This switch may come as a surprise to some Equinox members, as Kiehl’s has been available at the brand’s locations for more than a decade. But according to the team, it was time to shake things up.

“Why now? Why not?” Klim said. “We had an absolutely phenomenal partnership with Kiehl’s… It’s been 13 years. It’s time for change.”

While Equinox members will no doubt notice the shift in the locker room, both brands are investing in member communication, employee communication, in-studio activations, social media campaigns and more to successfully introduce the partnership.

“There’s a lot of efforts that is going in to really engage the Equinox community, to introduce the brand partnership, to explain the two philosophies,” Teal said.

Although this announcement marks the end of an era with Kiehl’s, it is also indicative of a larger strategy at Equinox, as the company plans to focus on beauty more.

“Grown Alchemist isn’t just a replacement of our existing partner. Grown Alchemist is our first foray into a point of view on beauty, as Equinox moves further and further into health span, lifespan and longevity,” said Klim. “[This is] only the first of our strategic initiatives around skin as the largest organ.”