Carlyle secures majority stake in Beautycounter

By

Robin Driver

Published
Apr 14, 2021

Multinational private equity firm The Carlyle Group has taken a majority stake in digital-native clean beauty brand Beautycounter, an investment that values the Santa Monica, California-based company at $1 billion and sets it up for accelerated growth.

 
Announced by Beautycounter parent company Counter Brands, LLC, on Tuesday, the transaction is intended to kick the implementation of the brand’s strategic initiatives up a gear. Currently the company is focused on driving brand awareness and improving its integrated omnichannel business model.
 
Launched by founder and CEO Gregg Renfrew in 2013, Beautycounter offers a range of clean beauty products, all of which are free from the 1,800 substances included on the company’s “Never List” of “questionable or potentially harmful ingredients.”

The clean credentials of the brand, which strives to uphold a “consumer-first” community-building approach, also reach beyond its own manufacturing processes. According to Beautycounter, it has thus far been responsible for the passing of nine pieces of legislation promoting the safety of personal care products in the United States.
 
The company’s more than 100 products are sold primarily through its e-commerce platform and a network of more than 65,000 independent sellers spread throughout North America. Beautycounter also distributes its products via a handful of company-operated brick-and-mortar stores and retail partners.
 
“Today marks an exciting and important milestone for our company and I am so proud to partner with Carlyle as we continue to work toward achieving that mission,” said Renfrew in a release.
 
“I have long admired Jay and the team at Carlyle for their experience working with brands at the intersection of cultural relevance and consumer demand and believe that our combined vision will be instrumental in accelerating Beautycounter as the leader in clean beauty, and in the beauty industry as a whole,” added the executive.
 
As for Carlyle, the firm sees its latest investment as a continuation of its “long-term focus on partnering with founder-led brands focused on growth.”
 
“We are so excited to partner with Gregg and her outstanding executive team to support Beautycounter's movement to bring safer products to consumers,” said Jay Sammons, head of global consumer, media and retail at The Carlyle Group. “Beautycounter is a pioneer and leader in the fast-growing clean beauty industry, and we see an opportunity to support a talented, founder-led team in amplifying the brand's mission to change beauty forever.”
 
The funding round also included the participation of Mousse Partners, which previously invested in Beautycounter in 2018.