LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pacifica Beauty, the pioneer of 100% vegan, cruelty-free, clean beauty, today announced that it has received a strategic investment from Brentwood Associates, a growth-oriented middle market private equity investment firm. Brentwood’s investment coincides with the appointment of new Chief Executive Officer and Board Member, Nathalie Kristo, a longtime L’Oréal executive who prior to joining Pacifica served as Huda Beauty’s North America President, then CEO based in Dubai. In this new partnership, Pacifica founder Brook Harvey-Taylor moves to the role of company President. Together, they will leverage Brentwood’s expertise scaling disruptive consumer brands to accelerate the company’s omnichannel growth strategy and broaden awareness for the brand’s high-quality, purpose-driven products.
Founded in 1996, Pacifica offers a range of products spanning skin care, hair care, cosmetics and fragrance. The company’s key product franchises include Glow Baby with vitamin C, Wake Up Beautiful with retinoids, and Stellar Gaze Mascara, which launched in 2013 as one of the first clean mascaras on the market. In addition, the brand has been a leader in embracing new technologies and creating vegan ingredients that have traditionally been animal-based, including its recent launches: Vegan Collagen + Vegan Ceramides skincare lines. Pacifica products are available for purchase domestically at marquee retailers including Target, Ulta and Whole Foods, among others, as well as through www.pacificabeauty.com and Amazon. Pacifica has also launched in international markets through partnerships with Shoppers Drug Market, Cult Beauty, and Douglas, and under new CEO Kristo’s leadership, plans to accelerate its rollout of distribution worldwide.
“For the last 25 years we have pushed to democratize clean, vegan and more sustainable beauty with our accessible price points. The consumer has never been more ready for our brand than they are today,” said founder Brook Harvey-Taylor. “As we continue to rapidly grow, I am so excited to have Brentwood as our new partner, with their deep bench of talent and capabilities in helping brands scale. Add Nathalie as our CEO, with her incredible leadership and experience, and I believe we are going to be unstoppable. Nathalie is truly inspirational, and she is aligned with our mission and values. Her global beauty experience and her proven track record will be invaluable as we look to take Pacifica to new heights.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Brook, Nathalie and the entire Pacifica team,” said Steve Moore, Partner at Brentwood. “We have been following Pacifica for nearly five years. Since its inception, Pacifica has been at the forefront of innovation in clean beauty, and we are excited to help them continue to build on this legacy.”
In addition to clean innovation, Pacifica has been a proponent of minimizing waste, recently introducing packaging innovations such as biodegradable patches, glass bottles and post-consumer recycled materials. Pacifica partners with several groups on sustainability-focused initiatives in the beauty industry, such as Plastic Collective, which works with a network of remote community projects turning plastic waste into a recycling profit. Pacifica also supports Plastic Net Zero initiatives that collect and recycle plastic equivalent to the total plastic used in Pacifica products each year.
Katherine Mossman, Beauty and Wellness Industry Partner at Brentwood, added, “We have been thoroughly impressed by the stellar business Brook and Billy have built. Pacifica is a true leader of the accessible clean beauty movement, and we are excited to support the brand by helping to drive greater brand awareness, digital optimization and operational excellence across its global omnichannel platform.” Rachel Presser, Principal at Brentwood, continued, “The beauty industry is a priority for us, and we believe Pacifica has a tremendous opportunity to grow both domestically and internationally. The company was built around core tenets – clean yet effective ingredients, inclusivity and sustainability – that both resonate with today’s consumer and align perfectly with Brentwood’s investment strategy.”
Jefferies served as Pacifica’s exclusive financial advisor on the transaction and Sidley Austin LLP served as Pacifica’s legal counsel. Latham & Watkins, LLP served as Brentwood’s legal counsel.
ABOUT PACIFICA BEAUTY
Beauty activists since 1996, Pacifica has always been on a mission to make clean beauty more accessible to everyone using the most effective 100% vegan, cruelty-free and plant powered ingredients at the best prices. Pacifica’s core value is putting the planet first, protecting animals and never compromising for people. Pacifica abides by its strict Compassion Standards, which includes over 1,800 ingredients the brand will never use in its formulations. Every product is carefully formulated with the strictest standards. Since its inception, Pacifica has strived to do better for our planet — from the ingredients Pacifica sources to the packaging its products come in. Pacifica works to minimize its footprint on the planet by using less packaging, PCR (post-consumer recycled plastic), glass, and/or aluminum. In partnership with Plastic Collective, Pacifica will be providing funding to develop plastic recycling social enterprises and address plastic waste in territories with high environmental leakage. To learn more about Pacifica, visit PacificaBeauty.com or follow the brand @pacificabeauty.
ABOUT BRENTWOOD ASSOCIATES
Brentwood Associates is a Los Angeles-based private equity investment firm with a 30+ year history of investing in middle-market growth-oriented consumer and business services companies. Since 1984, Brentwood’s dedicated private equity team has invested in over 50 portfolio companies with an aggregate transaction value of over $6 billion. With significant experience in both investing and brand building, Brentwood is a value-added partner for entrepreneurs and senior management teams building world-class companies. For more information about Brentwood, visit www.brentwood.com.
