Private-label beauty and wellness platform Blanka raised a $2 million seed funding round with the promise that they can launch a new beauty brand in under an hour, for less than $200.

WHO: Founded in 2020 by Kaylee Astle (CEO), Adam Chuntz (CMO), and Douglas Long (CTO), Blanka is positioned as a "private-label-as-a-service" platform. Indie beauty and wellness brands can use the platform for product procurement from North American suppliers and manufacturers, branding, fulfillment, and shipping. The business model is based on a monthly or annual subscription and a margin on all the products sold through its platform.

WHY: The investment will be used to build the company's marketing and tech teams, and scale its operations.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Astle told Axios, "We really started to understand the mechanics of the business and what levers we could pull to move faster. It became a no-brainer to raise capital to support that growth, but to also bring on the right advisors and investors to help us see around corners and scale the business to that next level."

DETAILS:

• Blanka raised a $2 million seed funding round led by Dundee Venture Capital, with Storytime Capital, Disruption Ventures, and former Shopify exec Fatima Yusuf participating.
• The company now has over 20,000 users signed up on its platform.
• Blanka has bootstrapped with the exception of a $50,000 check it received from participating in Forum VC’s accelerator last fall.
• The business has plans to raise a Series A some time in 2025.