Ashley Tisdale Launches Clean Wellness Line, Being Frenshe
Whether in a personal or professional sense, Ashley Tisdale never remains stationary for long.
For her latest venture, the entrepreneur has joined forces with Target and brand incubator Maesa to launch her wellness line, Being Frenshe — an extension of her 2020-founded wellness platform, Frenshe (pronounced french-ee, a play on her married name, French).
More from WWD
“When I launched Frenshe at the beginning of the pandemic, I was really looking to connect with a community, just on a personal level, where we could openly and authentically talk about everything from mental health, plastic surgery and gut issues, to letting go of toxic relationships,” Tisdale said.
The founder has carried the same ethos into Being Frenshe, which comes to market with 45 stock keeping units, comprising 13 product categories and five scent profiles. The formulas are vegan, and free of sulfates, parabens and phthalates. The key message Tisdale seeks to promote through Being Frenshe is the one that took her the longest to grasp: Wellness is a journey, not a destination.
For Tisdale, who starred in Disney’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and the “High School Musical” film trilogy, turning everyday rituals into avenues for self care is at the center of her approach to wellness, and what sparked the idea for Being Frenshe.
“I was realizing how these little things that I would do — even just lighting a candle or opening a window — can change the energy so much, and I saw how fragrance was lifting my mood,” Tisdale said. “I started to research how our brains and moods can be impacted by fragrances, and that was really the beginning of Being Frenshe.”
For the launch, Being Frenshe’s product lineup includes bath bombs, candles, perfumes, bath powders, scalp scrubs and more, all powered by what Tisdale refers to as “mood-boosting scent technology.” The brand’s five scents — each formulated with unique essential oil blends intended to help users relax and reset — are Lavender Cloud, Cashmere Vanilla, Bergamot Cedar, Solar Fleur and Citrus Amber.
Oat extract, niacinamide, coconut oil, squalane, magnesium and pro-vitamin B5 are among the key ingredients in the body care products, while the hair oil and mask are infused with shea butter and avocado oil, respectively.
As far as her product development process, Tisdale said she simply took her own daily rituals into account, and went from there. “I thought about each ritual that I really lean into myself, and decided what I could create from there,” she said. The result is everyday products that she sees fitting seamlessly into the daily routines of consumers.
“I know that a candle or a body wash aren’t going to completely solve anybody’s problems, but for someone like me, who’s a busy working mom, or a stressed out college student, taking a moment for yourself just makes you feel a little bit less defeated, and more renewed,” Tisdale said.
photo courtesy of being frenshe
Launching exclusively at Target, which Tisdale described as her “dream retailer” for the line, Being Frenshe products range in price from $7.99 for a hand serum to $16.99 for the Mood Boosting Perfume Discovery Set. The collection will be available in its entirety on target.com, and at 1,925 Target stores nationwide. Tisdale declined to comment on sales figures, as did Maesa and Target, but industry sources estimate the range could reach $20 million in first-year sales.
“In the wellness world, we’re often taught everything is unattainable, and really expensive,” Tisdale said of why it was important for her products to be affordably priced, and available at an accessible retailer like Target. “At Frenshe, we just believe that wellness is for everyone.”
Being Frenshe isn’t Tisdale’s first foray into beauty. In 2016, she joined forces with BH Cosmetics to launch a cosmetics line, Illuminate by Ashley Tisdale. Two years into the partnership, she acquired the brand from BH in a bid to rebrand, only to shutter the business in 2020.
“It felt like I went to business school that year, where I was, you know, the person on Shopify putting in the discount codes, while also doing a Netflix series,” Tisdale recalled. “I realized I couldn’t do it by myself — there was just no way.”
Ultimately, the venture proved to be good for the plot, equipping Tisdale with the acumen to prepare for Being Frenshe — even though, at the time, she still had no intention of helming another brand. “I knew if I was going to do a line again, it had to be different and meaningful,” Tisdale said.
When she launched Frenshe mere months after shutting down Illuminate, she reveled in the opportunity to simply create, without compromising her authenticity or having to commodify her output in some way. “That’s why Frenshe was so important to me — it inspired me to be creative again, without feeling the pressure of anything to do with products,” she said.
Tara Brown, chief marketing officer of Maesa, which also backs Drew Barrymore’s Flower Beauty and Taraji P. Henson’s TPH by Taraji, said in an email of why the brand incubator sought to link with Tisdale: “We are committed to launching meaningful and forward-thinking brands rooted in human truths. We met Ashley virtually right after she launched her wellness platform, Frenshe, and were drawn to her vision and authentic purpose inspired by her own mental health journey, and desire to create a supportive community.”
Tisdale also founded an interior design company, Frenshe Interiors, in 2021, another outlet through which she elevates her well-being by creating intentional spaces for herself and her clients (who are often friends of hers, including former costar Vanessa Hudgens).
“For me, mental health starts with self love — really loving and taking those moments to yourself. My approach to beauty focuses on the inside,” Tisdale said. “Feeding your soul is so important — It’s those rituals that really help you get through the day and make you feel good, that work in tandem with products.”
FOR MORE FROM WWD.COM, SEE:
Meet the Tan France-, Ashley Tisdale-approved Refillable Baby Care Line
How Maesa Supercharges Global Brand Growth
Idris and Sabrina Elba Launch S’able Labs Skin Care
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
