Brooklyn-based beauty incubator Slate Brands made its first acquisition—men's acne brand Frontman. The community seems to be more valuable than the brand because it will be rolled into Insanely Clean, a brand that Slate Brands internally incubated.
WHO: Frontman was founded by Annelise Hillmann and Nick Bunn in their Harvard University dorms in 2018. The brand launched November 2022 with its hero product Skintone Acne Treatment. The assortment expanded to include Zit Spray, Zit Patches, Zit Wipes, Papers Anti-Oil Sheets, and Skintone Zit Patches, all priced from $9 to $24.
Brooklyn-based Slate Brands describes itself as a digitally native incubator. They are strategic partners who provide talent and businesses with end-to-end services needed to build and scale beauty brands. Their portfolio is composed of talent-led, white-label, and in-house brands including Second Self with Brittany and Briana Murillo, Auden Lueur with XO Macenna, and Hue by Hayley Kiyoko. Insanely Clean was incubated in-house.
WHY: Following the acquisition, Slate will merge Frontman's community and insights into their portfolio brand Insanely Clean to drive growth in the male market.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “By combining Frontman’s expertise in men’s acne care with Slate Brands’ resources and strategic guidance, the acquisition sets the stage for the continued steady growth trajectory we have been on to address men’s needs in this category,” said Judah Abraham, founder and CEO of Slate Brands. “We are looking forward to merging Frontman into Insanely Clean—with big announcements to come for the brand later this year.”
“We could not be more excited to introduce Frontman to the Slate family,” said Annelise Hillmann, co-founder of Frontman. “We’re proud of the community we’ve built around our belief that everyone deserves self care. The Slate team truly understands our perspective in this space, and we cannot wait to see Insanely Clean take over the bathroom.”
The company doesn’t rule out further acquisitions. “We have had quite a bit of inquiries, and we’re open to it, but it needs to be strategic,” says Abraham. “At our core, our goal is to create brands that add value and will be profitable.”
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