Meet Nina Zilka and David Krause, founders of Alder New York skincare products. Nina and David met while attending the Pratt Institute and became instant best friends. As recent graduates in 2010, they did what many aspiring fashion designers do post-grad: they decided to start their own fashion brand. In particular, the pair focused on using vegan materials and local manufacturing.  

Business was great until everything changed during the holiday season in 2011. Nina was tired of searching for skin and hair products that didn’t contain animal products, so she created her own personalized dry shampoo in her spare time. The pair added the product to their website, not expecting any results – except a week later they had sold 400 bottles!  

They continued to add personal products, such as lip balms and other apothecary items, and in 2015 they decided to shut down their fashion line altogether and instead focus on clean, inclusive skincare. They reintroduced their brand as Alder New York: a vegan independent skincare line designed for all ages, genders, and ethnicities.

Nina and David now have an ever-expanding business with new research being done all the time to ensure the best products are on the market all while making sure they stick to their mission of offering environmentally safe products that make their customers feel great about themselves in more ways than one.