Fable Investments, the purpose-driven corporate investment vehicle created by Natura &Co, the world's fourth-largest pure-play beauty group, adds a fourth company to its portfolio of high-growth, differentiated, and innovative early-stage companies.
WHO: Driven by research and tested by the most scrutinizing skincare fanatics, Stratia was born in 2016 from a blog under founder & CEO Alli Reed's pseudonym "The Acid Queen," where she quickly became a thought leader for skincare devotees across the internet. Eventually, her interest in homemade skincare transformed into the Stratia brand (named as such after the scientific nomenclature for the layers of the skin). The hero product is Liquid Gold—a formulation that began getting traction on Reddit.
Founded in 2020, Fable Investments is the corporate venture investment arm of Natura &Co. Fable Investments is managed independently to ensure full commitment to the investment portfolio and deliver agility, autonomy, and reactivity. The team has extensive experience in the beauty and retail industries and in particular new market entry, sustainability, and respectfully scaling brands with a unique positioning.
WHY: The investment reflects Fable's commitment to nurturing inspirational, like-minded founders that challenge the norm in creating authentic products, cultivating lasting relationships with their customers, and creating a positive impact across the industry and the world. Fable's investment objectives are rooted in Natura & Co's ethos and operating principles.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Alli Reed, Stratia founder and CEO, said: "I am truly thrilled to have found a partner in Fable that really understands, respects, and appreciates our philosophy and autonomy as entrepreneurs. My boundless curiosity to figure out how skincare products work drove me to obsessively research, learn and understand this vast space. In the beauty industry, I so often see brands developing new products to capitalize on trends and buzzwords, but the science often doesn't back those claims up. I tirelessly research, test, and validate the science behind our ingredients, sourcing, and even packaging to ensure customers receive expertly formulated skincare. I look forward to working with the Fable team to realize Stratia's full potential and continue to develop products that cater for all genders, skin tones, and skin challenges and create skincare that actually works."
Stratia's commitment to science means clear labeling, transparent ingredient declarations, and a commitment to efficacy for a wide variety of skin types. "It was so important to me to develop products that are for all genders, skin tones, and skin challenges, and I think this philosophy of 'skincare for all' is at the core of what we do," Reed adds.
Stratia draws from its blogging roots to make education a central part of its mission. "I want to create better-educated skincare consumers overall, whether or not they become Stratia customers," says Reed.
Director of Fable Investments, Thomas Buisson, said: "Stratia immediately struck us as an outstanding example of a product-centric brand: authentic, innovative and confidently challenging the status quo in a meaningful way. We have been impressed with Founder Alli Reed's passion and commitment to cut through the noise to really understand the science behind products that truly work and enlighten users about skin care. She has demonstrated incredible resilience, determination and an ability to create long-lasting relationships with her customers—rare qualities that we relentlessly look for when we invest. We are excited to build on the phenomenal traction already demonstrated since Stratia's inception with an average 250% customer growth YOY and nearly 50% returning customer rate, and leverage our proven model and network of operational, brand, financial and investment experts, in addition to the expertise and knowledge of all of the Natura &Co brands to grow and expand the business and bring it to its full potential."
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