The Curology Skincare Brand Reinvention Playbook
Not many brands hit $200 million in revenue. Almost none do it twice — with two different models.
But Curology, a once-niche telehealth startup, pulled it off. Born in dermatology clinics and built on regulatory red tape, Curology pivoted into retail skincare without losing what made them special: personalization, science, and trust.
Here’s how they did it — and what it took to become a leading Curology skincare brand at scale.
1. 👨⚕️ Founder-Led Innovation: A Doctor Who Saw the Gaps
The story starts in 2014. Dr. David Lortscher, a practicing dermatologist, saw patients driving hours for acne treatments — only to hit insurance walls or overpriced meds. He realized that 90% of cases could be treated remotely using photos and personalized prescriptions.
So he teamed up with his tech-savvy brother Glenn and his dermatologist mom Nancy. Together, they launched Curology (then PocketDerm) — the first skincare brand to blend telehealth, compounding, and direct-to-consumer eCommerce.
💡 Takeaway: Startups win when they simplify what’s broken. Curology was built from a real-world pain point, not a product brainstorm.
2. 📲 Tech + Telemedicine = Personalized at Scale
Curology’s core unlock was regulatory navigation:
- Multi-state medical licensing
- HIPAA-compliant infrastructure
- Custom-compounded formulas
- In-house provider network
They combined this clinical complexity with DTC simplicity — online intake forms, photo uploads, and dermatologist-designed prescriptions, delivered to your door.
💡 Takeaway: If you’re going to build in a regulated space, invest in the infrastructure — and own the compliance.
3. 🚀 Content, Referrals, and Word of Mouth
Before paid influencer marketing became the norm, Curology grew through:
- 📚 SEO-rich blog content written by derms
- 📣 YouTube and Instagram creators sharing real results
- 👯♀️ Referral loops among teens and college students
- 🎯 Positioning as “the Warby Parker of skincare”
The brand scaled slowly — then hit a COVID-era boom as telemedicine exploded.
💡 Takeaway: Great products solve problems. Great marketing earns trust.
4. 📉 When Growth Peaks, Pivot Hard
Curology’s telehealth model surged during COVID, topping $200M in 2021. But post-pandemic, growth plateaued. Prescription margins tightened. CAC rose. Consumer fatigue set in.
The team made a bold move: pivot to OTC retail.
They launched a curated line in Target, then expanded to Amazon, Walmart, and CVS. Today, Curology OTC products account for $25M+ annually, while the RX business continues to serve legacy patients.
💡 Takeaway: Don’t confuse spikes with trends. Build flexibility into your model before you need it.
5. 🛒 From Telehealth to Skincare Aisles
Retail wasn’t an accident — it was strategy.
- Target drove $19M in 2023 alone
- Retail now makes up 12%+ of total revenue
- Curology Shop (DTC) launched in 2023 to support non-RX sales
- Amazon opened in 2024
- Walmart and CVS expanded shelf presence in 2025
The company went from a telemedicine-only platform to a full-stack skincare brand.
💡 Takeaway: Channels evolve. Moats move. The right retail play can fuel the next phase of growth.
6. 🎯 So What Is Curology Now?
It’s not just telehealth. And it’s not just skincare.
Curology is becoming a hybrid skincare brand — one with millions of patient consultations, a proprietary database of skin conditions, and a growing portfolio of prescription and non-prescription products.
It’s a category-defining platform. And they’re not done yet.
🛠️ What Founders Can Learn from Curology
If you’re building a digitally native health or skincare brand, here’s your Curology checklist:
- ✅ Solve from the clinic, not just the whiteboard
- ✅ Own your infrastructure (even if it’s expensive)
- ✅ Treat retail like a growth engine, not an afterthought
- ✅ Don’t get stuck on personalization — margin matters
- ✅ Hire for the next chapter (Curology brought in multiple pro CEOs post-2022)
Curology didn’t just disrupt dermatology. They reinvented it — and then reinvented themselves.
If you’re trying to scale a complex, compliance-heavy brand into something sustainable and acquirable, Sourcify can help. We’ve seen the pitfalls. We’ve built the roadmaps. We keep you from scaling chaos.
Let’s make sure you’re building the kind of skincare brand that’s still around in 10 years — not just trending this quarter.
