NEW BEDFORD — A city-based maker of natural skin care products is planning to expand its operations and open its first retail store in the coming year.
Bryce Organics makes a line of organic skin care products that includes fruit acid facial peels, facial exfoliators and body polishes.
Adrian Bryce Diorio, who founded the company in Providence in 2008, said his business makes its products with certified organic ingredients.
“We try to source our fruit and vegetables from local farms,” Diorio said. Instead of farm-to-table cuisine, he said it’s like “farm-to-table skin care.” The business, which moved to New Bedford about a year ago, has three employees and is based in the top floor of The Regency.
Diorio has been looking for a larger space in the city — 5,000 square feet — to create an expanded headquarters for production and distribution, he said.
When it expands, he said the business could increase the staff up to 10 people initially.
He said he moved the business to the city because he wanted a change from Providence, and New Bedford seemed to be “up and coming.” He wants to keep the company in the downtown area if possible, but he hasn’t found the right space yet, he said.
Diorio is also planning on opening Bryce’s first retail store at the Prudential Center in Boston later this year or early next year.
The long-term goal is to have stores in other major metropolitan areas, such as New York City and San Francisco, while keeping its headquarters here in the Whaling City, he said.
The products are now sold online and through participating spas.
Diorio, 31, who is originally from the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, said he used to experiment making smoothies when he was younger.
“One night, I think it jumped into my head to make a skin care line using the same concepts,” he said. “A lot of experimenting and a lot of changes, the recipe got to where it is now.”
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