Maureen Kelly, the founder and CEO of make-up brand Tarte Cosmetics, has launched a new wellness brand with her two sons designed to help people with busy lives improve their focus.
“Sippable self-care” brand Finnsul aims to “redefine high-performance focus” with a zero-sugar hydration formula containing more that ten vitamins and minerals.
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Created with her sons Finn and Sully, Kelly was inspired to create Finnsul by the pressures of navigating modern life, such as late nights, early flights, college schedules and back-to-back meetings, which can make being able to focus a challenge.
“I have always believed that wellness and beauty are much more connected than people realise,” Kelly told Cosmetics Business.
“You can invest in great skin care and make-up, but how you feel physically and mentally always shows up on the outside.
“Over the years, I have become increasingly interested in the idea that wellness really starts from within – how you are fuelling your body, how you are supporting your mind, and how you are taking care of yourself day-to-day.
“It feels like a natural evolution to explore wellness more deeply.
“Launching a wellness brand is not about leaving beauty behind, but about expanding the conversation around feeling good – both inside and out.”
Available in three flavours – Lemonade, Passion Fruit and Strawberry – and each with a caffeinated and caffeine-free version, Finnsul is available in packs of 15 single-serve sachets, or as a loose scoop powder bag offering 40 servings.
Finnsul is formulated with neuroscience-backed ingredients, including nootropics and choline, which are designed to support brain health.
An electrolyte complex features pink Himalayan sea salt, magnesium, calcium and zinc.
Plus, a combination of B vitamins are designed to support energy conversion and cognitive performance.
The formula, which contains ten calories and has no artificial colours or sweeteners, took months to develop.
This included testing ingredient combinations, refining the flavour and “making sure it was something we genuinely wanted to drink every day”, said Kelly.
Ingredients were chosen by drawing on Kelly’s own experience of taking various supplements over the years to feel more balanced and focused, such as magnesium, B vitamins, electrolytes and citicoline.
“I have honestly been interested in wellness for years,” said Kelly.
“I had been mixing different supplements every morning long before it was popular, so the curiosity and learning around the space had been building long before Finnsul became a brand.”
Tapping younger generations' perspectives
At the same time as creating the formula, Kelly has been building the brand – from naming and design to packaging – with her sons.
“Finn and Sully both live incredibly active, fast-paced lives,” said Kelly of her sons’ involvement with the new venture, noting that they were not even born when she founded Tarte Cosmetics.
“Between athletics, training, school and everything else that comes with their schedules, they understand firsthand what it feels like when your days are full and your mind is constantly moving.
“They also share the same ADD [attention deficit disorder] brain that I have, and both have dealt with gut issues growing up, so wellness has always been a real priority for them.
“That perspective has been incredibly valuable while building Finnsul.
“They bring a very real understanding of what people their age are navigating and what they are looking for when it comes to supporting their energy, focus and overall wellbeing.”
A pouch of Finnsul and three smaller sachets
The move comes amid a surge of interest in wellness, especially among younger generations.
The global wellness market is valued at US$2tn, according to analysts at consulting firm McKinsey.
In the US alone, wellness represents more than $500bn in annual spend, according to McKinsey’s Future of Wellness survey, and the sector is growing by 4% to 5% each year.
Around 84% of US consumers said wellness is a top or important priority, and in the UK and China, 79% and 94% respectively said the same.
Gen Z and millennials make up more than a third of the population, but drive more than 41% of annual wellness spend, McKinsey found.
However, the brand is targeting an audience that is not necessarily tied to demographics, – one which Kelly describes as “anyone who feels like their mind is constantly moving", and that she sees across all ages and lifestyles.
Cutting through the wellness noise
In a hot but increasingly crowded category, Kelly hopes to cut through the noise with a product that puts mental clarity at the forefront, and that fits naturally into people’s lives.
“Wellness is growing quickly right now, but because of that it can also feel overwhelming,” she said.
“There are so many products, ingredients, do’s and don’ts, and routines that people are trying to piece together everyday.
“What Finnsul brings to the category is a focus on mental clarity.
“A lot of people today feel like their minds are constantly moving – you walk into a room and forget what you went in for, or you feel like you have twenty tabs open in your brain at once and can not figure out which one to start with first – all things I am guilty of.
“Finnsul was designed to support those moments.”
For her new brand, Kelly will be tapping her hard-earned nous from building Tarte Cosmetics, which she founded as a ‘clean’ and cruelty-free make-up line in 1999.
It has since grown to become a billion-dollar brand, with hero products such as Shape Tape concealer, and has managed to remain relevant amid increasing competition from newer indie brands.
Tarte Cosmetics was the top-selling make-up brand on TikTok Shop in the US in 2025, according to analysts Charm.io, with an estimated $80.8m in annual revenue from the social media platform alone.
“One of the biggest lessons I learned from building Tarte is how important it is to really listen to your community,” said Kelly.
“Some of the best ideas come directly from the people who you hope will be using your products every day.
“That mindset has carried over into Finnsul.
“Another lesson is that building a brand takes patience and authenticity.
“Over time you learn that the most important thing is creating something people actually want to come back to.”
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