Waldencast, a dynamic new fund focusing on early-stage beauty and wellness brands, has announced the addition of three new brands to its portfolio.
WHO: Kjaer Weis is the pioneering and multi-award-winning organic makeup brand that fuses the worlds of luxury performance and sustainability without compromise. Founded by Danish-born, New York-based makeup artist Kirsten Kjaer Weis, KW has developed a cult following by combining a minimalist Scandinavian aesthetic with the unapologetic spirit of Kirsten’s adopted home of NYC.
Sallve is the first digitally native D2C Brazilian cosmetics brand. A truly community-driven brand, Sallve is revolutionizing the Brazilian skincare market, combining sincere conversations, safe choices, and incredible formulas to create a D2C brand inspired by real needs, and becoming a benchmark for local success after building a highly engaged social media community of more than 180K in less than a year.
Manual is leading the new direction for Modern Masculinity, offering a positive male wellness digital platform: curated products, content, and tools that empower confidence and ownership of men’s health and well-being. Launched in January 2019, the British start-up is focusing on providing affordable, medical-grade products and guidance for all age groups, packaged alongside essential grooming and wellness content.
Waldencast incubates and accelerates forward-thinking brands in the early stages of their development through funding and operational expertise to help them scale and thrive. Inspired by the growing movement towards conscious consumerism, the company is driven by a belief that responsible entrepreneurship can be a powerful force for change. Drawing on decades of hands-on, operational experience in the global consumer beauty industry, the founders assembled the Waldencast Collective.
WHY: Following the October 2019 announcement of its partnership with Costa Brazil, these substantial new partnerships epitomize the fund’s purpose to exclusively nurture future-proofed brands whose passion for responsible entrepreneurship caters to the burgeoning consumer demand for more ethical, sustainable, and inclusive beauty standards.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Michel Brousset, founder and CEO of Waldencast, said:“We closed our first year of operation with a portfolio of very exciting brands, all of which share our commitment to responsible and inclusive entrepreneurship. We are honored to partner with these founders and be part of their journey to establish a unique POV in the beauty and wellness industry—one that marries purpose, art, beauty, and design with industry and commerce to make the planet and the lives of those in it better. All these brands are differentiated by a meaningful DNA, superior products and innovation, and a strong and engaged consumer following.”
Kirsten Kjaer Weis, founder and CEO, comments: “I’m very excited to partner with Waldencast as they bring to Kjaer Weis a unique blend of proven expertise in enabling growth, while being fully aligned with our values as a company and our commitment to exceptional product integrity. As the Beauty industry responds to increasing customer demands for clean beauty and an eco-friendly footprint, our partnership is well poised to bring Kjaer Weis to global leadership as a brand that fulfills the shift in consumer preference.”
Daniel Wjuniski, founder and CEO of Sallve, said: “We were really impressed by Waldencast during our exploration talks. Their knowledge of the beauty market, product development and marketing will be a great asset to Sallve’s growth as an important player in the region. We are proud to have Waldencast on board.”
George Pallis, founder and CEO of Manual, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Waldencast as Manual continues to grow in the UK. To be recognised and invested in by such an experienced, eminent US investor really shows what a valuable brand we are building, and we are very much looking forward to seeing how this partnership positively impacts us moving into 2020.”
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