UK-based indie challenger brand The Inkey List secured a significant minority investment to fuel international growth.

WHO: Founded in 2018 by Colette Laxton and Mark Curry, The Inkey List was born from a belief that better knowledge powers better decisions. The brand focuses on keeping costs down while providing premium-grade ingredients and no-frills formulas that work. After only three years on the market, the brand has found success through a global partnership with Sephora.

WHY: North America has been a key market for the brand, and the funding will support growth in that market and global expansion.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Colette Laxton, Founder of The Inkey List, said, "As we enter a seminal phase in our brand development, we felt it was the right time to bring in another external investor to support our huge growth plans for 2022. We are so excited to bring Aria in to support us with our ambitious growth plans. This will enable us to continue to drive our mission of spreading the Beauty of Knowledge to even more consumers across the globe."

Trevor Nelson, founder and Managing Partner at Aria Growth Partners, added, "We are thrilled to partner with Mark, Colette and their outstanding team at The Inkey List. With ingredient-led, highly effective products and a deep commitment to empowering consumers with both knowledge and accessible prices, we believe The Inkey List is the future of skincare. We're excited to help them continue their unprecedented growth."

TRIBE DYNAMICS EMV: The science-backed skincare brand collected $12.0MM EMV this quarter, enjoying a healthy 30% QoQ growth. Despite experiencingQoQ community size and post count increases of just 2% and 5%,respectively, The Inkey List saw a 27% surge in potency, with its Q1creators averaging $6.4K EMV each. The brand owed much of its success to its continued popularity with skincare creators on TikTok, with $4.0MM EMV of its Q1 total stemming from the short-form video platform. “SkinTok” fueled gains for several of The Inkey List’s top products, including the Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum, which surged from $452.2K EMV in Q4 to $1.4MM in Q1. The brand benefited from popularity among beauty-focused creators, demonstrating both The Inkey List’s versatility and the continued synergy between cosmetics and skincare. Beauty guru Jamie Grant (@jamiegenvieve onInstagram), for example, ranked as the brand’s No. 1 EMV driver with$329.2K via 14 mentions.

DETAILS:

• The Inkey List received a minority investment from Aria Growth Partners. The terms of the transaction were not released, but the firm's investments typically range in size from $5 to $25 million.
• WWD reported industry sources estimate the brand reached $75 million in gross sales last year and is projected to hit over $100 million in 2022.
• In June 2021, they launched a buzzy collaboration with Hyram Yarbro on the Selfless by Hyram brand exclusively with Sephora.
• The brand was launched in 2018 with a £40,000 budget.
• The Inkey List has grown nearly 600% over the past three years, building a community of over 2.1 million and selling 20 million products globally to date. The brand is currently available through Sephora in more than 30 countries.
• Unilever Ventures invested in the brand in 2018.