Duke Cannon, a fast-growing men’s grooming company, has received a strategic growth investment from Main Post Partners, a leading private equity investment firm with deep experience partnering with high-growth consumer brands.
WHO: Founded in 2011 by Anthony Albanese and Sam Swartz and led by CEO Ryan O’Connell, Duke Cannon provides hard-working head-to-toe solutions for men, with high-quality formulas at accessible prices. Born as a DTC business, Duke Cannon quickly gained footing in independent and specialty retailers like Carhartt, Duluth Trading Co., and Ace Hardware, with recent expansion into over 30,000 doors of the nation’s leading food, drug, and mass retailers such as Target, H.E.B., Hy-Vee, CVS, and Walgreens. Rooted in military history, the brand continues to gain inspiration from active-duty soldiers and donates a portion of its profits to causes that benefit veterans.
Main Post Partners is a private equity investment firm focused on investing in proven growth companies across the consumer value chain. Main Post Partners invests in both majority and minority positions primarily in first institutional capital situations where founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams are looking for an experienced partner to help build their companies to full potential. Main Post’s investments in the beauty sector include Too Faced Cosmetics, Not Your Mother’s, Milk Makeup, Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, and Sugared + Bronzed.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “We launched this brand for one reason: we were unhappy with the men’s grooming options available at the time. We did not believe the teenage-targeted body wash brands from the big companies reflected the values of decent, hard-working men, and other challenger brands seemed to take themselves way too seriously. With Duke Cannon, we needed to employ a different playbook, so we built a brand grounded in functionality, fun, and purpose. This unique approach has led to a sizable and fast-growing legion of deeply loyal fans,” said Sam Swartz, co-founder and Vice President of Marketing.
“We have long admired the brand that Sam, Anthony, and Ryan have built and are believers in the quality of their products and mission-driven purpose of the brand. Duke Cannon is disrupting this large category and we are excited to support the team as they grow their base of loyal customers both online and in-store,” said Jeff Mills, Managing Partner, Main Post Partners. “We could not be more excited to partner with Main Post. They really got our brand, culture, and mission and they have traveled the road ahead,” said Anthony Albanese, co-founder and Vice President of Innovation.
Matt Short, a principal at Main Post Partners, added “The Duke Cannon team should be exceptionally proud of what they have built and we share the team’s conviction that the best is yet to come.”
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