Lime Crime appoints former The Body Shop GM as CEO

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
May 19, 2020

Vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand Lime Crime has named Andrea Blieden as its new chief executive officer.  

As CEO, Blieden will lead Lime Crime, as it focuses on growing its digitally native roots and expanding upon the success of its domestic and overseas retail launches, the company said. 

Gaining early career experience working for a variety of e-commerce platforms and start-ups, Blieden most recently served as general manager of the U.S. for The Body Shop. As GM, she led the integration of the business, after the brand was acquired by Natura from L'Oreal in 2017.

In addition, she oversaw all of the brand's retail, wholesale and digital channels, grew brand awareness and marketing in the U.S. She also led the brand as it launched a new website, loyalty program, and CRM initiatives and invested into growing its digital business. 

Prior to her time with The Body Shop, she served as assistant vice president, interactive marketing and e-commerce for L'Oréal-owned beauty brand Kiehl's, before graduating to assistant vice president, retail marketing and later vice president, brand and retail marketing.  

Lime Crime's choice to hire Blieden was led by private equity firm Tengram Capital Partners, the company that acquired Lime Crime in June 2018.

"[Blieden's] knowledge of the digital landscape, her ability to understand and effectively communicate with the customer base, and her passion for the Lime Crime brand and what it represents made her a perfect match for Lime Crime," said Matt Eby, co-founder and managing partner of Tengram.

"With over 3.5 million Instagram followers, Lime Crime has an incredible social reach. We believe Andrea and her skillset will be able to build off of this strong foundation and grow the brand into something even more amazing and unique."

Blieden comes to Lime Crime at a time when the company has seen "extraordinary momentum recently" in its hair color business, thanks to at-home hair dyeing trends sparked during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

"There is still so much untapped potential for Lime Crime," Blieden said.
"The brand is extremely relevant to today's cultural landscape; it represents freedom of self-expression and gives consumers the ability to be creative and have fun. Harnessing that in a meaningful way will really drive the business."

Currently, Lime Crime products are available at retailers including Ulta in the U.S. and Selfridges and Boots abroad. In addition, the company recently entered the China market through an unnamed Chinese distributor last fall.