Eco-luxury color brand La Bouche Rouge raised €10 million in funding from investors Mirabeau Asset Management, the Chalhoub Group, and BPI.
WHO: La Bouche Rouge was founded in 2017 by L'Oréal veteran Nicolas Gerlier with the aim of creating the first cosmetics brand globally to ban microplastics and plastics from everything, including product formulation, manufacturing, and selling. The lipsticks are vegan, cruelty-free, and come in recyclable, refillable packaging. Each time a La Bouche Rouge lipstick is sold, the brand supplies 100 liters of safe drinking water to the association Eau Vive Internationale.
WHY: The new capital will be used to fuel international expansion and support launches of skincare and fragrance.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "There are three key words: rethink, refill, recycle," Nicolas Gerlier told WWD. "Because the goal of La Bouche Rouge is really to reinvent a new approach of beauty with a minimum of waste, but the maximum of pleasure. We are inventing blue beauty."
He said the shareholders in this financing round "believe in a vision, about the necessity to build something new for the 21st century. They invest in La Bouche Rouge because they want to make their money positive. They want to have a positive impact on the world."
"The Chalhoub Group has been closely looking at clean beauty brands, so we could help accelerate and better develop our expertise in clean beauty," said Michael Chalhoub, President Strategy, Growth, Innovation & Investment and Joint Ventures at the Chalhoub Group. "Nicolas is someone that we found fascinating—with a great story, great entrepreneurial spirit and a fantastic background, with a great formula he managed to develop.”
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