Beet The Sun Statement

2023 Beet The Sun Update!

We heard ya loud and clear. You needed SPF protection, so we worked like crazy to bring it back home!

We learned from our past and wanted to provide full transparency throughout the entire process from production to release. Your new reliable bestie to protect you from those pesky UV rays is ALMOST here and beet-er than ever!

Welcome back Beet The Sun with us. Get early access to shop and exclusive deets on that Beet by signing up below!

 

See Our Previous 2021 Beet The Sun Statement Below:

Hey KB fam, we’re back with an update on Beet The Sun (Korea) and we have a lot to catch up to do so keep up with us until the end.


Firstly, thank you so much for your patience. We’re sorry we couldn’t provide clarity sooner but truthfully, this process wrapped up very recently and now we feel like we have enough information to provide conclusive updates to our community. We’re glad to finally have some answers for you.


Let’s get started.


What’s been going on?

At the end of last year, it was revealed that a number of manufacturers and independent testing labs have produced faulty results that do not match the product SPF claims. With that, several Korea-based skincare companies pulled their sunscreens in response to testing that showed their SPF ratings were not accurate. It was clear this problem was deeper than any one brand and there were widespread issues with how sunscreens were being manufactured, tested in Korea and approved by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).


Were we affected?

Our products are manufactured in Korea so naturally we were concerned that we were at risk too. But we worked with a reputable manufacturer that promised high ethical standards and assured us our formulas were tested and labeled correctly. Regardless, in light of how widespread the issue had become, we decided to do our own independent testing to verify the results before proceeding with the next product order in January. And now, we’re ready to shed more light on how things went.


How did we test?

When choosing the labs to test our formula, we choose to partner with multiple U.S.-based 3rd party testing labs in order to avoid any possible conflicts and ensure full transparency. We selected labs that were well experienced and practiced ethical testing techniques. We conducted in-vivo clinical trials using ISO 24444 methodology and ensured labs maintained full compliance with widely accepted JCIA standards.


What were the results?

Depending on the labs, the test subjects and range of testing, we received different results. In summary, the original result was SPF 55.3 but extensive testing since then has shown that the formula performed below our standards. Unfortunately, due to legal and privacy constraints, we’re not able to release our exact results or testing documentation to the public. We know this is not the news you were hoping to hear and believe us when we say we are disappointed too. We should’ve taken the extra step to test independently and verify our results before launching this product so that we could’ve caught this issue earlier. That’s our responsibility and that’s where we didn’t fulfill commitment to you so for that, we’re incredibly sorry.


So what do we do now?

There is only one right option. We’ve decided to discontinue sales of Beet the Sun from all markets, indefinitely. We’re disappointed that we have to say goodbye to a beloved product but we feel like this is the best way to make things right. You deserve the highest level of safety and trust in us and our products—period. We’re truly sorry for not doing right by you. We take our responsibility to you very seriously and we feel like we’ve let you down. From here, we are focused on rectifying this issue the best way we can and making major changes to our product development process. From this experience, we've learned that we need to be extra cautious of who we partner with to formulate our products and make sure we’re doing our due diligence to keep our partners accountable and transparent. 


Refund protocol

We have completed all refunds to customers who submitted a refund request by May 12, 2021, for any Beet The Sun & The Beet Shield purchases made between May 18, 2020 and February 2, 2021. Please note, we are no longer accepting refund requests.  

Eligible purchases must have met the following criteria:

Refund disclaimer/notes:

  • Any purchase made on third-party websites (e.g., Amazon) are not eligible for a refund.
  • A maximum of five (5) units will be refunded per person.
  • All refunds will be net of any discount and will exclude any shipping fees.
  • Refunds will not be issued to accounts deemed as reseller (over 10 orders between May 18, 2020 and February 2, 2021).

 

Where we go from here

We have a lot of changes to make. As difficult and long-winded as this process was, we also want to learn and grow from this so we can be better for you in the future. We want you to feel as confident putting your skin in our hands.


From here on, we promise to:

  • Work diligently in vetting new labs and manufacturers to partner with us
  • Launch new sunscreens with fully verified, FDA-approved SPF ratings in the U.S.
  • Always test any new sunscreens with multiple independent labs before launching
  • Work on updating our general refund policy so customers have more flexibility to return any products that they don’t have positive experiences with 
  • Launch a customer testing program to get our community’s input on before launching any new product

These are not the only changes we’ll make, but they’re ones we can start working on now. We will follow up again in the future to expand on these changes and call on our community to continue holding us accountable for our progress.