Castanea Partners announced today that it has acquired a minority interest in First Aid Beauty, an innovative and differentiated skincare products company that addresses skin challenges with everyday, feel-good solutions.
First Aid Beauty, also known as FAB, offers a range of effective yet luxurious skincare products that include cleansers, exfoliators, moisturizers, serums and masks. The company was founded in 2009 by Lilli Gordon, a beauty industry veteran, and is based in Newton, MA. FAB products are free of harsh chemicals and known allergens, and address skin concerns such as aging, dryness, redness, eczema, acne and sun protection. First Aid Beauty is distributed through Sephora, as well as other domestic and select international beauty retail and ecommerce retailers.
Steve Berg, Managing Partner at Castanea, and Janet Gurwitch, Operating Partner at Castanea and former Founder and CEO of Laura Mercier, will be joining Clive Bode and Karen Mills on First Aid Beauty’s board of directors.
“First Aid Beauty is uniquely positioned in the personal care and beauty industry, and is an exciting opportunity for Castanea,” said Steve Berg. “We very much look forward to working closely with Lilli and the team to support the company’s continuing growth.”
“Lilli and the team have developed a differentiated brand in the prestige category with a compelling range of products,” said Janet Gurwitch. “FAB has great potential, and we are thrilled to be part of the next stage of their growth.”
Lilli Gordon, Founder and CEO of First Aid Beauty, said: “Having personally grown FAB every step of the way, I could not imagine a better partner than Castanea. They embrace our brand philosophy and have a deep understanding of the sector and a proven track record. We look forward to working together to fuel our original rescue mission to provide easy to use, effective, feel good solutions for universal skin challenges.”
Financo represented First Aid Beauty in the transaction.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About First Aid Beauty®
Introduced in 2009, First Aid Beauty (FAB) is on a rescue mission to offer real solutions to real problems, as well as everyday essentials that form the cornerstone of your skincare regimen. FAB believes that beautiful skin starts with healthy skin and creates products that address a range of skin conditions with scientifically-advanced formulas. Elevating traditional, iconic drugstore products to their next level, FAB puts the beauty into first aid. First Aid Beauty products are allergy tested for even the most sensitive skin, reinforcing FAB’s commitment to achieving maximum results with minimum irritancy. To learn more, please visit www.firstaidbeauty.com.
About Castanea
Castanea is a private equity firm that works in partnership with founders and management teams of innovative passion brands to grow their businesses through a combination of capital investment and operating expertise. We are focused on select consumer verticals including beauty, food and beverage, multi-unit services, and enthusiast lifestyle. We typically invest between $15 to $150 million of equity in minority or majority transactions. Our team of talented operating executives offers critical expertise in key verticals and functional areas, and provides our partner companies with strategic and tactical support. Castanea has more than $1 billion in assets under management and is currently investing from a $735 million fourth fund. For more information about Castanea Partners read our story.