Frankie & Mehdi (Keika)

Company Pledge Profile: Keika

We recently spoke with Frankie and Mehdi the founders of Keika. They shared with us why they pledged 10% of their profits from Keika to the world's most effective charities.

Tell us a bit about yourselves and about Keika?

We’re Mehdi and Frankie, a husband-and-wife team building Keika together. Frankie, a registered nurse at the time, started making cold-processed charcoal soap at home on her days off. She’s the creative force behind our brand strategy, formulations and product development. Mehdi has a background in internet marketing and leads the operations, marketing, and growth side of the business.

What inspired you to start Keika, and what drives you in your work?

Keika began in 2018 out of personal necessity. Mehdi has seborrheic dermatitis and could not tolerate most conventional soaps, which were often heavily fragranced and filled with unnecessary ingredients. At the same time, Frankie, working as a registered nurse, was washing her hands constantly and showering after long shifts, leaving her skin dry and irritated.

Frustrated with what was available in stores, Frankie began making cold-processed charcoal soap in their condo kitchen. It resolved our skin issues, and when friends, family, and coworkers tried it, many experienced similar improvements. They began requesting bars for themselves, which is when we recognized the need for simpler, more natural skincare.

What drives us today remains the same. We aim to create products that are safe for the whole family, thoughtfully formulated, and effective enough to address real skin concerns without unnecessary additives.

Fun fact: Keika is Frankie’s childhood nickname, pronounced Kay-KAH. It was originally meant to be temporary until we discovered that in Japanese, Keika means “progress over time.” That philosophy reflects how we approach skincare, business, and life in general. Meaningful results come from small, consistent improvements made over time.

How would you describe Keika’s mission, values, and approach to doing business?

Our mission is to pursue steady progress in the products we create, the way we grow, and the impact we make over time. In practice, that means making simple, effective skincare without unnecessary ingredients or hype. We focus on quality, practicality, and products that do what they are meant to do.

We value transparency, consistency, and long-term thinking. We aim to be clear about what goes into our products and realistic about what they can achieve.

Our approach to business is disciplined and steady. We prioritize quality, maintain open communication with our customers, and reinvest in improving both the product and the overall experience. We believe growth should be the result of doing the right things consistently over time.

Tell us a bit about how you put your values into practice?

As Keika continues to grow, we ask ourselves how we can give back in the most meaningful way. That led us to explore the idea of effective giving, which meant focusing on evidence, transparency, and measurable outcomes rather than just good intentions.

We were looking for a way to formalize our commitment to giving. The 

 provided accountability and confidence that our contributions would be directed toward high-impact causes. It offers a clear, measurable way to commit to long-term contribution rather than occasional donations.

We care most about different forms of inequality, such as social, environmental, and access to basic health resources. Through how we run our business and how we give, we aim to contribute in a practical, measurable way toward reducing those gaps.

 the biggest difference has been clarity and accountability. Giving isn’t occasional, it’s structured and intentional. That shift strongly aligns with how we run our business overall: long-term, thoughtful, and evidence-based.

One moment that stands out in our journey to taking the 

 was during the early stages of COVID-19. There was widespread uncertainty, supply shortages, and heightened awareness around hygiene. Because we produce soap, an essential product at the time, we were able to continue operating while many businesses were forced to pause.

That period reinforced something important for us: essential goods carry responsibility. We weren’t just selling a product; we were providing something people genuinely relied on. It was also a time when we became more intentional about giving, recognizing that in moments of crisis, steady contribution matters even more.

COVID clarified for us that impact isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it’s about showing up consistently when it counts.

What advice would you give to other business leaders or companies considering the Company Pledge?

We’d advise them to build it right into their business model. Think long-term, commit to evidence-based causes and treat giving like any other serious part of their business. We personally value the fact that the pledge commits you to impact, not to one specific organization. That flexibility allows you to donate across a variety of high-impact causes and address different injustices you care about most, while still maintaining consistency and accountability.

Think in percentages, not one-off amounts. So much easier! Committing to a fixed portion of income or profits creates consistency and removes the guesswork each year.

What are your goals for Keika in the future, both as a business and as a force for positive impact?

Our goal is sustainable growth as a business and sustained commitment as a contributor. We want to scale responsibly, improve continuously, and ensure that as Keika grows, so does our ability to support high-impact causes in a disciplined, consistent, and measurable way.

Our broader vision is to see inequality gaps steadily close over time. Closer to home, we’d like to see more people choosing simpler, healthier skincare over harsh, chemically-laden products. Both reflect the same principle: better systems, better choices, better outcomes. On a personal level, we hope to build something we can genuinely be proud of: A stable, principled company that contributes consistently and responsibly. And in many ways, that vision mirrors our name. Keika represents progress over time.

Any final reflections or messages you’d like to share with others about giving, business, or making a difference in the world?

Progress happens through steady, intentional action and not one big gesture. If more individuals and businesses made small, consistent commitments toward change, those inequality gaps would close much faster.

Frankie and Mehdi are the founders of Keika, a family-run skincare company that has pledged 10% of it’s profits to highly effective charities. In this Company Pledge profile, they share how Keika began out of personal necessity, how the idea of “progress over time” shapes both their business and their giving, and why they’ve chosen a structured, evidence-based approach to creating impact.

Frankie and Mehdi are the husband-and-wife team behind Keika, a family-run skincare company. Keika has taken the Company Pledge, committing 10% of its profits to highly effective charities.

Frankie & Mehdi (Keika)

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Company Pledge Profile: Keika