iNNBeauty Project puts minority investment funds towards Sephora launch

By Julia Wray | Published: 15-Oct-2021

The Gen Z fave offers ‘clean’ and efficacious skin care that is affordable to younger consumers

iNNBeauty Project has closed a minority investment, led by Strand Equity and Beechwood Capital, and says it intends to allocate funds towards growing the brand and supporting its US-wide launch in Sephora.

The New York-based company launched in 2019 after co-founders and industry veterans Alisa Metzger and Jen Shane spotted a void in the beauty space for ‘clean’ and efficacious skin care that was affordable to younger consumers.

Following 300% year-on-year growth, the brand caught the attention of LVMH beauty retail chain Sephora, and is now available in all 490 of the US' Sephora stores, 200 Sephora x Kohl’s stores and Sephora online.

iNNBeauty Project's hero products include moisturiser serum Slushy; Pimple Paste, an overnight drying paste; Down to Tone, a 9% acid resurfacing toner; and vitamin C and stem cell serum Green Machine.

“With the omnichannel expansion into Sephora and Sephora x Kohl’s we have an incredible opportunity to become a household name,” said Metzger.

“We are committed to investing in people, product and process. Bringing on key roles in operations and finance, as well as investing in marketing, will allow us to flawlessly execute our Sephora launch and introduce our brand to millions of consumers.”

She continued: “Our emphasis on innovation is always at the heart of everything we do; we will continue to amplify our core products and blow consumers away with new formulations.

“Jen and I are thrilled to have Strand Equity and Beechwood Capital as our partners. They have incredible knowledge of the beauty space and acutely understand the power of Sephora. Their confidence in and support of our vision will help our push into new retail doors, allowing us to become more accessible to the masses.”

“At iNNBeauty Project, we custom build every formula from the ground up and take a holistic and creative approach to helping each skin concern,” added Shane, whose CV includes product innovation roles at Bare Essentials, Tarte Cosmetics, Tula and TATCHA.

“I thoroughly research the latest active ingredients and manufacturing processes and review medical journals to find proven ingredients often overlooked by skin care brands. This gives our products the superior efficacy, innovative textures, and ingredient stories that consumers are actively looking for.

“I am passionate about making high-quality, clean formulations with exceptional efficacy accessible to a wider audience. Quality skin care shouldn’t have to be reserved for special occasions.”

Commenting on the investment, Strand’s Vice President George Song, said the firm was "thrilled to partner with Alisa, Jen and their growing team as they build the next iconic beauty brand”, while Larry Kahn, Managing Partner, Beechwood Capital, said Beechwood was “blown away by Alisa and Jen’s vision [and] the brand’s unique selling proposition”.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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