Biohacking broadly refers to the practice of using technology, tools and supplements to optimize physical and mental performance. One brand looking to bring those practices into the mainstream is HigherDose, whose at-home infrared wellness products have helped position it at the intersection of beauty and recovery. In an interview with Inside Retail, HigherDose co-founder and co-CEO Lauren Berlingeri discusses the company’s rapid growth, its new wholesale partnership with Ulta Beauty and its ambitions to make biohacking part of consumers’ everyday routines. IR: How would you describe HigherDose? What gaps does this brand fill in the beauty/wellness space? LB: HigherDose is a modern wellness brand built at the intersection of beauty, recovery and biohacking. We create at-home infrared and red light technology, tools and rituals designed to help your body recharge, restore and glow from within. Our mission from day one has been to make supercharged self-care and beauty biohacking accessible to the masses, not something reserved for a luxury spa or a recovery clinic. The gap we saw, and still see, is that beauty and wellness were treated as separate categories, when how you look is deeply connected to how you sleep, recover, manage stress and care for your body. We set out to close that gap, introducing infrared to the mainstream and making biohacking a beauty ritual before wellness became everyone’s aesthetic. IR: How did you first come up with the idea for HigherDose and the brand name? LB: The spark really came during my time at that wellness startup. I was researching and developing their product line when one of the health experts I was interviewing introduced me to infrared therapy. I went and tried the only infrared sauna in New York City and was genuinely shocked – not just by how effective it was, but by how few people knew about it. That gap between how powerful the technology was and how little awareness existed around it is what turned an interest into a business idea. Katie and I had met through a mutual friend at exactly the right moment, and when I pitched her the idea, it clicked instantly. She’s an adrenaline junkie and a brand builder in her own right, and together we co-created what is now HigherDose. As for the name, the “Dose” in HigherDose signifies dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. We wanted a name that captured the feeling of getting a “higher dose” of those feel-good chemicals through everyday rituals. IR: HigherDose recently announced that it has developed a wholesale partnership with Ulta Beauty. How did this retail relationship come about? LB: It actually came about through a friend of mine who has her own skincare line in Ulta. She couldn’t say enough about what an incredible partner they’d been to her, and she mentioned that Ulta was leaning further into wellness and looking to expand in that direction – so she offered to make an introduction. That personal endorsement meant a lot to us, because when someone you trust tells you a retailer genuinely shows up for its brands, that’s worth more than any pitch. From there, the alignment was obvious. Ulta Beauty’s push into the wellness space fit perfectly with what we’ve been building – making biohacking and everyday self-care accessible to more people – and they reach exactly the kind of customer who’s curious about that world. What started as a warm introduction between friends quickly turned into a partnership that felt right on both sides. It’s a milestone we’re really proud of, because it brings HigherDose and infrared wellness to an even wider audience. IR: In addition to Ulta Beauty, how else are you planning to expand HigherDose’s retail presence? LB: A big part of our strategy is broadening the kinds of products we offer, because that naturally opens us up to new types of retailers. Historically, biohacking tools have lived in a fairly specific wellness lane, but we’re developing more products that fit seamlessly into everyday rituals – our shower head is a great example. It’s something people already use every single day, so it lowers the barrier to entry and introduces the HigherDose philosophy into the most ordinary moments of someone’s routine. Products like that don’t just expand what we sell – they expand where we can sell. As our range grows to include these more accessible, ritual-based items, we can show up in a much wider variety of retailers beyond the wellness and beauty space. The goal is really two-fold: keep innovating on products that weave wellness into daily life, and let those products carry us into new retail environments where we can reach people who might never have walked into a sauna studio or sought out biohacking on their own. IR: What goal points do you hope to carry out with HigherDose over the course of the next year and over the next five years? LB: Over the next year, my focus is on expansion – both in where we show up and what we offer. That means growing our retail footprint with partners like Ulta, and continuing to launch products that weave wellness into everyday rituals, like our shower head. The goal is to keep lowering the barrier to entry so that biohacking doesn’t feel intimidating or out of reach – it just becomes a natural part of how people take care of themselves every day. Looking five years out, my vision is bigger: I want HigherDose to be a household name and a true leader in the at-home wellness space, here and internationally. When we started, most people had never heard of infrared. My hope is that five years from now, these tools are simply part of everyday life – the way people think about a good night’s sleep or a daily walk. I’d love for us to have a full ecosystem of products that support people from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed, and to keep breaking down the idea that wellness is a luxury. Ultimately, the goal is to help as many people as possible feel better in their own bodies – and to build a brand that lasts because it genuinely changes lives. Further reading:  How Alissa Miky harnessed red algae to create functional beverage brand Oomee