October 16, 2017

Castanea Partners Announces Investment in Tatcha

Castanea Partners announced today that it has made a minority investment in Tatcha, a luxury skincare brand with a collection of products inspired by timeless Japanese beauty rituals.

Founded by Victoria Tsai in 2009, Tatcha offers a line of serums, moisturizers, mists, exfoliants, and cleansers. The Tatcha name is derived from tachibana, the classical Japanese art of flower arranging that features a single “standing flower”, representing the beauty of simplicity. This philosophy drives the company’s approach in creating pure, naturally-powered formulas. Tatcha’s collection is distributed through the company’s website, Sephora North America, QVC, and other domestic and international wholesale and specialty retail stores.

“Tatcha stands out for its high-quality products and authentic brand heritage,” said Steve Berg, a Managing Partner at Castanea. “We look forward to working with Vicky and the team to support the company’s growth.”

“We’re honored to work with Castanea because of their unique experience in building luxury brands in beauty and beyond,” said Vicky Tsai, Tatcha’s CEO. “Steve and Janet are star players in the beauty industry and have a reputation for being great partners. We are also deeply grateful to Financo for bringing us together, and to Vennette Ho for her tireless work to help us find our perfect match.”

“We believe that Castanea is the right thought partner to build a luxury, digitally-driven brand for the future,” added Brad Murray, Tatcha’s President.

“This is a very exciting investment for us,” said Janet Gurwitch, Operating Partner at Castanea, and former founder and CEO of Laura Mercier. “The company is at a stage in its development where our deep industry and operating expertise will add value as Tatcha pursues its global growth potential.”

Janet Gurwitch and Steve Berg will be joining Tatcha’s board of directors.

Financo and Mintz Levin represented Tatcha and Ropes & Gray represented Castanea in the transaction.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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.

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