Born out of a desire for a men’s personal care brand that was high performance, transparent, clean, and mission-driven, Bravo Sierra launched in 2019. Bravo Sierra is America’s personal care company with products made to meet the needs of all―from those who serve in the military to those who lead active lives. The brand develops all its products in collaboration with its proprietary Battalion, a digitally native core community of 2,500 United States Special Operations Forces, active service members, and veterans, to ensure all products deliver on the highest quality standards and perform in the most demanding conditions. If the Deodorant holds up for an active-duty service member out in the field, it will hold up for you in daily life. All products are made in the US, minimizing carbon footprint while supporting domestic vendors (often small independently owned businesses). Formulas are clean―free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates, phenoxyethanols―vegan, and cruelty-free. Every product is either Cradle to Cradle Certified, or made from the latest sustainable materials, and never tested on animals. Additionally, the brand gives back 5% of its sales to quality-of-life programs supporting active service members, veterans, and families.
Founders: Justin Guilbert and Benjamin Bernet
Founded: 2019
Leadership:
2023 Full Year Expected Revenue Range: $10 to $20 million
Category: Personal Care, Bodycare, Fragrance
Distribution: Amazon, Mass, Grocery, Prestige
Total Funds Raised: $35.7 million
Funding Rounds:
In August 2022, Bravo Sierra closed a Series B funding round for $17 million from investment advisory firm The Merchant Club, with participation from AF Ventures and Capstar Ventures, as well as previous investors Mousse Partners and Redo Ventures.
In February 2020, Bravo Sierra closed a $12 million Series A led by seed-round lead Global Founders Capital along with Mousse Partners, Canaan Partners, Redo Ventures, Grace Beauty Capital, and Lapa Capital.
In August 2019, Bravo Sierra raised $6.7 million in a seed round of funding led by Global Founders Capital with participation from Canaan Partners, Mousse Partners, BoxGroup, Redo Ventures, and Grace Beauty Capital.
Notable Investors: Mousse Partners
Notable Advisors / Board Members: Nicolas Geiger from L’Occitane
What are some of your key business initiatives for 2023?
In 2023, Bravo Sierra will continue to deepen its mission to support its military-native community. With one of the most substantial revenue share commitments in the industry, 5% of all Bravo Sierra sales are donated, through a unique partnership with the Department of Defense's military exchanges, to support military families’ and veterans’ Quality of Life Program.
This coming year, Bravo Sierra will further accelerate its omnichannel strategy by integrating the brand’s online and offline touchpoints with its community, including continued retail growth within military, mass, and e-commerce channels, and investment in the company's product innovation pipeline with domestic R&D and manufacturing.
Finally, Bravo Sierra will continue to create and develop innovative, effective, high-quality and clean products available to the broadest audience possible at affordable price points.
What are you most proud of having accomplished?
Since launching in 2019, Bravo Sierra’s revenue has doubled year-over-year. With more than 10,000 five-star reviews online, Bravo Sierra has been one of the fastest growing personal care brands over the past 12 months. After a year of launching on Amazon, Bravo Sierra’s Deodorant is consistently in the top 10 bestselling Deodorant on the platform.
2022 was a big year for Bravo Sierra. In August 2022, Bravo Sierra announced a $17 million Series B fundraise led by The Merchant Club, a retail launch into all Walmart stores nationwide, and the appointment of a new board member from the L’Occitane Group, Nicolas Geiger. A couple of months later, in October, the brand launched a Refillable Body Wash Can to eliminate excess waste. When it comes to refills, Bravo Sierra wanted to take sustainability one step further. The brand was not satisfied with the current option on the market―largely plastic pouches―so they decided to look to the beverage industry for a better solution. Enter The Aluminum Can. With the new refillable can format, consumers can refill their existing Bravo Sierra Body Wash bottle to eliminate excess waste. To wrap up the year, Bravo Sierra launched its first-ever Cologne, quickly becoming a bestseller for the brand.
What has been the biggest surprise since the brand was founded?
The success of our natural deodorant! Initially planned as a tactical addition to our grooming line without much ambition towards it, our Deodorant has become our #1 best-seller, with a cult following of loyal consumers! Consistently ranked in the top 10 on Amazon, we can’t keep up with the demand, and we have since launched three new scents! It has become a strategic pillar for our brand.
What aspect of your brand DNA fuels your competitive advantage?
Co-developed and tested by thousands of US military service members, Bravo Sierra celebrates the ethos of what it means to serve—integrity and hard work—and takes pride in the impact they make on the US military. Recognition and appreciation of service is something that’s been a part of Bravo Sierra’s mission since launching. From day 1―prior to being a profitable business―5% of all sales have been donated through a unique partnership with the Department of Defense’s military exchanges, to support military families and veterans Quality of Life Program. Now with one of the most substantial revenue share commitments in the industry, America’s personal care brand surpasses six figures in contributions back to a range of community support and quality of life programs for active duty service members, veterans, and their families.
In addition to the giveback, the brand believes that quality and performance shouldn’t be the privilege of the few who can afford to spend $20 on personal care staples. From day 1, Bravo Sierra has used aluminum wherever possible in its product packaging. Currently, nearly half of the portfolio is made from 100% infinitely recyclable aluminum, a highly valuable circular resource.
Please share your insight on the future of the beauty industry.
We believe that consumers will continue to be more demanding about the products and brands they purchase. They will demand transparent supply chains, sustainable manufacturing, local sourcing, as well as strong give-back mechanisms and purpose, mission-driven organizations. It’s not enough to just have a good product nowadays. Consumers are becoming militants!
We love this evolution at Bravo Sierra, because we believe brands can have a significant impact on society to instill change, bring awareness, and influence culture.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Life is short, don’t try to be good at many things―aim at being excellent at a few. We’re passionate about developing personal care products. We've been doing it for almost 20 years and still feel we’re learning every day, hopefully on the path to becoming excellent!
Paying it forward, what advice would you give to someone contemplating launching a beauty brand?
Don’t spend too much time looking at the competition. It is a saturated industry … Everything has been done and tried, but there’s always room for a great product pushed by a passionate founder. Believe in your vision, start small, and rapidly test and iterate until you find something that "clicks" with your audience, something that has your customers coming back for more.
If you could change one thing in the beauty industry, what would it be?
The beauty industry tends to take itself very seriously. We’re here to have fun, try new things, make some mistakes, improve, evolve, and enjoy ourselves! It’s just deodorants and body washes, in the end!
