Mielle Organics breaks the glass ceiling for Black-owned, women-led haircare brands with historic investment from Berkshire Partners.
WHO: Founders and husband-and-wife team Monique and Melvin Rodriguez started Mielle Organics out of their home in 2014. The natural haircare and beauty brand believes healthier ingredients encourage healthier hair and skin. Its 660,000 Instagram followers come to the brand for regular advice on handling textured hair. Its 60 products, which include shampoos and hair vitamins, are stocked in over 100,000 retail locations like Sally, Target, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid, HEB, internationally in Europe, Africa.
Berkshire Partners is an American private equity firm that has invested in over 100 middle-market companies since 1986 through nine investment funds with aggregate capital commitments of more than $16 billion.
WHY: The financing will support Mielle’s growth plans and a portion of the investment will be used to support Mielle’s More Than a Strand program.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “We are excited to forge this historic partnership with Berkshire Partners,” said Mielle CEO and co-founder Monique Rodriguez. “Their investment reinforces our mission for community development and growth of Mielle’s vision of global expansion. We are also thrilled to continue this journey with New Voices. They believed in Mielle from the beginning and have truly been a great partner. These are the types of steps it takes to create generational wealth and jobs for people of color. We are truly grateful for their partnership.”
“We started this business in our garage, sparked by Monique’s passion to build a worldwide community of women,” added Melvin Rodriguez, co-founder and COO, Mielle. “During the past seven years, we’ve been able to expand our product lines, increase our distribution and invest in our community; we are excited to continue innovating and developing new products, grow awareness of Mielle, and reach even more consumers to give them products that they deserve.”
“We are honored to invest behind Monique and Melvin and in Mielle,” said Marni Payne, Managing Director at Berkshire Partners. “Mielle is an extraordinary business, but importantly has a larger purpose: to excite, empower and serve the community. Monique and Melvin have built this business from the ground up; we share their vision and are excited to support them as they continue their journey of growth and community.”
“When my family and I sold Sundial Brands in 2017, one of our stated missions was specifically to invest at least $100 million in women of color entrepreneurs through the New Voices Fund and other efforts; our vision was that when given the opportunity, Black women entrepreneurs will bring transformative wealth creation to their families and our communities. What Monique and Melvin are accomplishing with Mielle is a powerful example of the impact a successful and purposeful Black woman-owned business can have in driving economic impact to our community,” said Richelieu Dennis, founder of the New Voices Fund, Essence Ventures, and Sundial Brands.
Dennis added, “I am proud that they chose to partner with New Voices in 2019, and I am even more excited to partner with Monique, Melvin and Berkshire Partners on this next leg of their historic journey where I fully expect to help them surpass our successes and impact in the beauty space. This is what creating equity and closing the wealth gap looks like—us investing in us so that there are not just a few of us, but thousands of us creating generational wealth to reinvest in our communities.”
DEAL:
