Beauty industry veterans Nicky Kinnaird and Lori Perella Krebs have partnered with private equity firm Winona Capital to form Ancora. The first transaction is taking a majority stake in clean-beauty brand Indie Lee.

WHO: Indie Lee was founded with a single mission—to keep things simple and effective; to empower, engage and educate others, one ingredient at a time. The skincare and lifestyle brand consists of an eco-chic collection of clean beauty products that combine style and sustainability without sacrifice. Inspired and motivated by a life-threatening brain tumor believed to be environmentally derived, Indie has dedicated her life to educating others to the potentially harmful effects of toxins absorbed through the skin.

Ancora knows how to support leaders. Its principles, Lori Perella Krebs and Nicky Kinnaird, bring decades of developmental experience within the beauty industry. Financial partner, Winona Capital, is a seasoned private equity investor with a strong track record of building businesses through sound decision-making and operational excellence.

WHY: The Ancora investment is expected to give the brand the financial backing it needs in order to expand product-wise and geographically.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “We don’t see clean beauty as a long-term trend, we see it as a shift in the marketplace,” Krebs told WWD. “[It’s] evidenced by clean retailers, by existing retailers creating a space for this. [Indie] is that voice to champion the industry to the movement.”

DETAILS:

• Ancora acquired a majority stake in clean beauty brand Indie Lee.
• Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
• The brand has distribution in several hundred doors, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Anthropologie, Bluemercury, Credo, The Detox Market, Follain, and other retailers.
• According to WWD, India Lee has doubled in size every year since it launched in 2008.

Read the full press release on PR Newswire.