Tina Hedges

Post-pitch story

Tina Hedges pitched LOLI — Living Organic Loving Ingredients — as the beauty industry's zero-waste future: upcycled, food-grade skincare in compostable packaging. For a while, the industry agreed. LOLI won the CEW Sustainability Award in 2019, beating out major incumbents, and raised about $1.7 million across eight funding rounds. But the ending was bittersweet. In 2024 Hedges had a deal to sell the company — and it collapsed over a $500,000 SBA disaster loan lien and personal guarantee that couldn't be untangled in time. LOLI shut down in October 2024, with Hedges writing candidly about how a pandemic-era loan meant to save small businesses ultimately doomed hers. She's since stayed in the beauty world as an advisor and awards judge. LOLI is gone, but its upcycled-beauty playbook influenced an industry that now treats sustainability as table stakes — not a bad legacy for a brand that started in a pitch room.