Melanin-rich skincare brand 4.5.6 Skin has rebranded and raised €1.7 million, with eyes on expanding its business in the US market.
WHO: Founded in 2020 by Noelly Michoux as a beauty tech company, 4.5.6 Skin focuses on skincare catering to skin phototypes IV, V, and VI, otherwise known as melanin-rich skin. R&D for the brand started through LVMH research center Cosmet'up program. The brand's 6-step, customized, clean, biodynamic formulas are designed for the specific needs of skin with higher levels of pigmentation. Customers can also create custom biomimetic formulas by completing a skin diagnostic quiz to determine their skin phototype based on skin characteristics, skin concerns, skincare history, lifestyle, and location.
WHY: The new capital will fund retail expansion.
DETAILS:
- 4.5.6 Skin raised €1 million from corporate offices and European VC funds and another €700,000 from the French Public Investment Bank.
- Roughly 80 percent of the company’s revenue comes from the UK and only 10 percent from the US, which is where the brand will focus on expanding.
- The company recently launched a complete rebrand with more eco-friendly packaging, new imagery, and a new product, Mela Skin Reset Biomimetic Essence.
- In September 2020, 4.5.6 Skin raised €700K in seed funding from backers that included the Be Angels, and French entrepreneurs including Fotolia and eFounders Thibaud Elziere, Julien Romanetto, and Frédéric Montagnon and Benoit Koerperich.
