Sally discovered the power of ingestible skincare after severely burning herself. She started drinking collagen to help with recovery, and after falling in love with it, she embarked on a journey to bring collagen to her aging parents. Sally began formulating with her favorite superfoods to make delicious collagen-infused drinks known as Crushed Tonic (found in Sephora, Equinox, JetBlue, Erewhon & more). Sally has also published the book “The Collagen Glow,” which can be found at Barnes & Noble.

Edward is an award-winning multidisciplinary creative director based in New York. As a co-founding partner of Crushed Tonic, Edward oversees all creative output as the company transforms from humble beginnings into a K-beauty empire. Together with Sally, he is formulating and developing new flavors, merchandise, SKUs, and experiences.

What inspired you all to create this company?
I’ve always been interested in nutrition and the impact of a clean and controlled diet on the mind and our overall health.

But my passion for biohacking hit a new high when I got burned from a cooking fiasco. The oil melted the skin off my arms instantly, and when prescription ointment and silicone patches didn’t work, I turned to the internet to find ways for my skin to heal, and regenerate, as quickly as possible.

This was when I discovered collagen, and the role it played our skin and hair. After taking it daily for a few weeks, I saw how amazing it was in helping clear up my skin and making it plump, hydrated and dewy. I then tried to evangelize it to my aging parents and family, and this was where I saw the problem. No one wanted to ingest collagen, because of how it tasted. And had I not been burned, I am not sure if I would have stuck it to daily either.

So I dedicated the next few weeks to come up with a collagen formulation that my friends and family would enjoy— which now we call Crushed Tonic!

What distinguishes your company and product in the market?
I have yet to come across a collagen brand that has combined multiple top-shelf superfoods, vitamins and supplements together into one single-packet drink.

Crushed Tonic is also special in that it is gender-neutral, portable (no more scooping and spilling or forgetting to take your vitamins), can be added to just water and taste great, includes biotin for an extra oomph of hair growth support, and only uses marine collagen*.

*Not only is marine collagen the most effective for the body, it is sustainably sourced from fish skin that would have been otherwise disregarded; bovine collagen, although cheaper and more margin-friendly, are sourced from boiled cow hides– something that would never work for us.