Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg Share the Story Behind Fresh
The co-founders discuss how they transformed a bar of soap into an iconic beauty brand.
When I first sit down with Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg in the lobby of a Toronto hotel, I can’t help but immediately mention Roytberg’s “How I Get It Done” profile on The Cut. It’s from 2017, but, as the saying goes, it has lived in my head rent-free since it came out. “Oh, my God,” says Roytberg, who oversees the creative vision and global strategy of the brand. The account of the Fresh co-founder’s day details her meticulously-planned-out work schedule, including a commute from Boston to New York multiple times a week.
“It’s a very overwhelming read,” I joke. “Things have changed a little bit since then,” she laughs.
Glazman and Roytberg launched the brand in 1991 as an apothecary store selling hand-wrapped upscale bars of soap. By 1995, the soaps were carried in over 200 stores across the United States. One year later came the Milk Collection, an innovative body care line that uses milk as a primary ingredient (a trend that’s still going strong today).
“When we first started the company, our entryway was soaps and body care products,” says Glazman. “But they were all very innovative, like Brown Sugar Body Polish — the very first sugar exfoliator on the market — and honey scrubs as well as sugar cubes that you could throw in the tub.”
By 1998, Fresh was a solidified body care giant with its own stand-alone New York City store, but Glazman and Roytberg knew it was time to look north — toward the face.
“Starting with a cleanser was a no-brainer,” says Glazman. “But we wanted to create the ultimate cleanser that everyone would love.”
Glazman and Roytberg were warned by seasoned industry pros that expanding from body care to skincare would be no easy feat and that perhaps it would be wise to stay in their (already established) body care lane.
“Of course, we said no,” laughs Glazman. “But that was why it was important to launch with the most democratic cleanser, for any skin type, that people could truly fall in love with. Because once you find a great cleanser, you’re not really shopping around for another. We knew we could not fail; it had to be amazing, and it had to become this star product that would act like a brand ambassador.”
The strategic business move paid off, to say the least. Fresh’s Soy Face Cleanser launched in 1999, pioneering the use of soy proteins in skincare, and remains one of the industry’s bestselling cleansers to date. Shortly after, Fresh launched its online retail platform, entered Sephora (becoming the first natural company to be sold at the retailer, where it remained a best-selling skincare brand for a staggering 10 years) and was acquired by LVMH.
“The acquisition was great because, first and foremost, it gave us access to labs that we didn’t necessarily have access to before,” explain Glazman and Roytberg. “Because innovation was always key for us, that was really important. We’d always had a small lab in the south of France, but once our appetite in skincare innovation started growing, we needed access to something bigger, including botanists, chemists and scientists to work full-time for our brand.”
Glazman says that while there were other conglomerates interested in Fresh, “LVMH was different because they really trusted our instinct and knowledge and would allow us to still have full autonomy. We weren’t looking to completely sell the brand and move on. We still owned a piece of Fresh; we were active then, and we’re active now. Fresh is well protected under LVMH.”
Today, a bottle of Fresh’s Soy Face Cleanser is still sold every 30 seconds globally. The brand is responsible for kicking off many other major skincare trends, like the use of kombucha, rose petals and black tea in product formulations. Glazman says that Fresh’s core business and innovation belief — that anything is possible — remains intact almost 35 years after the brand’s launch.
“Our evolution can be tracked via our products,” says Glazman. “We continue to dive deeper into natural ingredients and innovative science that pushes our product formulations further than ever. I think that’s also what keeps our team excited. Everyone is encouraged to really push the boundaries of what can be done.”
Check out our picks for some of Fresh’s best-rated products below.
Fresh Perspective
This article first appeared in FASHION’s March 2025 issue. Find out more here.
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Souzan Michael Galway is a beauty editor and copywriter who has spent the last 15 years reporting on the beauty industry. She covers everything from innovative product launches and buzzy new ingredients to how evolving beauty trends reflect what's going on culturally. During her downtime, she can be found playground-hopping with her toddler and golden retriever.
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