Lime Crime Names Andrea Blieden CEO

Lime Crime has announced the appointment of Andrea Blieden as the new CEO of the vegan, cruelty-free brand. The company was backed several years ago by Tengram Capital Partners, which led the process for the hiring of Blieden.

With her appointment, Lime Crime will focus on its digitally native roots and expand upon the success of its retail launches both domestically and abroad.

Blieden began her career working in the trenches of several e-commerce platforms and start-ups in the early days of digitally-driven commerce. She previously worked for The Body Shop as vice president of brand and retail marketing at Kiehl's before leaving the brand in 2016.

After spending one year as the VP of Marketing, she was promoted to general manager of the U.S. market and has held that role until joining Lime Crime. As GM Andrea led a team of nearly 1,000 employees and was responsible for The Body Shop's entire U.S. market.

She led the integration of the business after the brand was acquired by Natura from L'Oreal in 2017. She was responsible for all retail, wholesale and digital, growing brand awareness and marketing. While serving as GM, The Body Shop launched a new website, loyalty program and CRM initiatives.

Under Blieden's leadership, Lime Crime’s goal is to dominate as an innovator in the digital space, while maintaining and growing its retail presence. The brand has already demonstrated success in its color and hair lines at brick-and-mortar retailers including Ulta in the United States and Selfridges and Boots abroad.

“[Blieden's] knowledge of the digital landscape, her ability to understand and effectively communicate with the customer base and her passion for the Lime Crime brand and what it represents made her a perfect match for Lime Crime,” Matt Eby, co-founder and managing partner of Tengram, said. “With over 3.5 million Instagram followers, Lime Crime has an incredible social reach. We believe [Blieden] and her skillset will be able to build off of this strong foundation and grow the brand into something even more amazing and unique.”

“There is no denying that the demand for Lime Crime is there–if you just look at the engagement across its social media channels, it's amazing,” Blieden said. “Even in times like these when so many brands are struggling to make genuine connections with their customers, Lime Crime’s engagement is higher than ever and consumers are having so much fun engaging with this brand and the products.”

Blieden concluded, “There is still so much untapped potential for Lime Crime. The brand is extremely relevant to today's cultural landscape; it represents freedom of self-expression and gives consumers the ability to be creative and have fun. Harnessing that in a meaningful way will really drive the business. Tengram has built a great foundation for growth, and I feel so fortunate to be a part of this brand.”