Joseph Zigelboum, founder of beauty and lifestyle brand TUMERI.
Powerful spices have been long-held as purifying, cleansing, and healing.
In the Jewish faith, Havdalah (the end ritual of Shabbat), is punctuated by the meticulous preparation of foods aimed at honoring core aspects of the ancient Israelites’ story. Joseph Zigelboum always understood the impact of utilizing natural elements to bridge his heritage with present life through a healthy lifestyle. But it wasn’t until he was forced to face his father’s long term illness did he fully discover the true magnitude of spices, particularly turmeric.
“The origin story is my father suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for years and went to many doctors, which prescribed many things, but nothing really helped,” Zigelboum shares with Forbes. “After I stumbled upon turmeric and suggested it, he gave it a try, and it changed his life for the better.”
Following that discovery and months of deep research, in 2020 he created Tumeri, an ethical skincare brand that stands on the healing properties of turmeric with a mission to reach as wide of an audience as possible.
“It’s so much bigger than skincare, our purpose,” he tells Forbes. “Sure, it’s starting out as a turmeric-based skincare brand focusing on the benefits of the most powerful natural anti-inflammatory on the planet. Still, the idea is so much bigger than that. What acne, bloating, joint pain, and disease all have in common is one thing: inflammation. We lead such inflammatory lifestyles these days, especially with the foods we consume.”
The lifestyle brand features a range of nearly a dozen products aimed at healing its users from the inside out, exposing them to the benefits of mindful self-care. Zigelboum recognizes that the $146 billion global skincare market is crowded, but Tumeri stands in a league of its own, according to him.
“The entire differentiating factor is that Tumeri has always set out to be transformative for the entire body, not just the face,” he tells Forbes. Since it’s launch, the niche brand has already raked in more than six figures in e-commerce sales alone.
His first foray into skincare began nearly a decade, when in 2016, he launched Brooklyn Botany, a skincare brand that grew into a multi-million-dollar entity that was later acquired in 2020. Now, he’s gunning to harness turmeric’s magical abilities to create a holistic empire.
“It’ll encapsulate hair care, skincare, and nutrition.” He adds. “It improved my dad’s quality of life—saved it. I want to do that for others one building block at a time.”
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
