Clean makeup brand Ilia has raised a Series B from Sandbridge Capital to fuel growth.
WHO: Ilia was founded by Sasha Plavsic and her brother, Zachary, who developed a line of clean makeup products. Ilia offers a “full face” assortment of more than 100 distinct high-performance products crafted with certified organic ingredients and nontoxic synthetics. The brand strives to ensure its products are manufactured ethically and sustainably, including the use of recycled aluminum and post-consumer recycled paper printed with vegetable-based dyes. Its unique combination of brilliant pigments, superior performance, and nourishing organics has earned Ilia a leading position in this fast-growing category.
Sandbridge Capital partners with global brands in luxury, disruptive consumer-based technologies, beauty, health, and wellness. Brands in the fund’s portfolio include Thom Browne, Derek Lam, Farfetch, The Real Real, and Youth to the People.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “Like other brands in this industry, I believe many of us are seeing accelerated growth, so when you raise capital you generally have an idea of how long it will take you,” Ilia founder Sasha Plavsic told WWD. For Ilia, that Series A was meant to last about a year or 18 months, but Plavsic decided to raise a little sooner to “not be in a rush.”
Lynda Berkowitz, the Company’s CEO, commented in a statement, “I am thrilled to partner with Ken Suslow and the Sandbridge team, as well as work together again with Brian Thorne at Silas Capital. Their investment and industry expertise will greatly support pronounced growth opportunities for ILIA.” Berkowitz joined the brand in 2016 after working for brands like, Too Faced, Perricone MD and Bobbi Brown.
Ken Suslow, Sandbridge Founding Managing Partner, added: “ILIA impresses as a very special brand that is authentically and transparently true to its clean purpose driven mission, thoughtfully unifying prestige and clean beauty in support of its uniquely elevated brand. We are highly enthused to be partnering with Sasha and Lynda, and very much look forward to leveraging Sandbridge’s expertise as global brand builders in support of ILIA’s compelling growth trajectory.”
Brian Thorne, Partner of Silas, stated, “We’re extremely proud of the success that Sasha, Lynda and the ILIA team have achieved over the past year since our initial investment, and even more thrilled about what’s to come for this truly innovative brand. With additional growth capital, a strong new partnership with Sandbridge and the continued support of our firm, we intend to further solidify ILIA’s position as the category leader in clean color cosmetics.”
DETAILS: