The Carlyle Group has bought a majority stake in men’s grooming brand Every Man Jack.

WHO: Ritch Viola founded Every Man Jack in 2007 with a focus on clean formulations and affordable men’s products, including body wash, face wash, and deodorant. The brand started with 12 stock-keeping units and has grown to more than 80. Products are sold at a variety of retailers, including Whole Foods, Target Corp., Walmart Inc., and Kroger Co.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “We self-funded this, bootstrapped it from the beginning,” said Viola in an interview with WWD. “The minute I started having a lot of these meetings, I realized if I could go back and tell my [35]-year-old self what to do, I would have started a board right from the beginning.”

Viola said he felt like Carlyle was the right fit for his brand because of the firm’s depth of resources. “We’re primarily in North America today, but we see a big opportunity to grow into an international brand and I was very impressed by all the resources they had across all functions for our organization, and then across all geographies.”

“Every Man Jack benefits from a number of tailwinds, including the increasing engagement of male consumers in their personal care routines and the significant growth of natural and sustainable products,” says Jay Sammons, Carlyle’s Head of Global Consumer, Media and Retail. “Every Man Jack sits at the intersection of these two trends, which gives us a high degree of confidence in the opportunities ahead to build upon its attractive value proposition for consumers and retailers alike.”

DETAILS:

• The Carlyle Group has bought a majority stake in Every Man Jack.
• Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but industry sources told WWD the brand has about $60 million in net sales and has grown about 45 percent per year over the past two years.
• Viola will remain Chief Executive Officer and become chairman of the board, which is being established for the first time.
• John Replogle, the former CEO of Seventh Generation and Burt’s Bees, Pete Alberse, also a veteran of Seventh Generation and Burt’s Bees, and Sharon MacLeod, who spent more than 20 years at Unilever, most recently as Global Vice President of Dove Men + Care, will also join the Every Man Jack board.
• Carlyle has made several other investments in founder-led beauty companies, including Vogue International, which it sold to Johnson & Johnson in 2016 for $3.3 billion, and Philosophy, which was sold to Coty in 2010.