Eurazeo invested $53 million in Pangaea Holdings for a minority investment in the Los Angeles e-commerce company. The investment is part of a larger round that includes $15 million in Series B funding.
WHO: Pangaea was founded in 2018 by Richard Hong and Darwish Gani with the launch of Lumin, a premium men's skincare brand with natural Korean-based formulations. Achieving remarkable growth, Pangaea invested in and built a proprietary global e-commerce platform while also expanding the brand portfolio with Meridian, a men's precision-grade below-the-belt grooming brand, launched in 2020. The company has grown rapidly since its founding, with over 300 employees today across four offices and product sales in 70+ countries.
Eurazeo, through its Brands division, brings strong brand-building, operating, and consumer expertise, working with founder-led brands across the world. The firm will partner with Pangaea to support the continued development of Lumin and Meridian, as well as expand Pangaea's brand portfolio while investing in its proprietary global e-commerce platform. In addition, Eurazeo will leverage its global network to accelerate Pangaea's international expansion.
WHY: The business plans to use the financing to execute on its roadmap for growth, including expansion into additional product categories, development of new brands, and the potential licensing of its proprietary platform to support the next wave of digital consumer entrepreneurs with its global D2C capabilities.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Jill Granoff, Managing Partner and Brands CEO at Eurazeo, said, "Richard and Darwish have launched a platform and products that address a significant need in an attractive, growing market. The team has achieved impressive results in a short period of time across geographies and categories, demonstrating strong product appeal to global consumers. They have also built a highly scalable technology that can support future brand development. The company is well-positioned for future growth and we look forward to partnering with Pangaea to help its brands meet their full potential."
Darwish Gani, co-founder of Pangaea, said, “We created Lumin and Meridian amidst a generational shift in men's buying behaviour. It was clear that men were ready to elevate their routines, they just lacked options that made them feel empowered, knowledgeable, and safe. Our focus on education and a men's focused customer experience has enabled us to build an amazing community of men dedicated to elevating their personal care habits. It's clear to us that by 2030, using skincare will be as common as brushing your teeth. We're excited to be at the center of this cultural change and believe Eurazeo can help us make Lumin and Meridian household names.”
Richard Hong, co-founder of Pangaea, said, "We're looking forward to continuing to grow our company and brand portfolio with Eurazeo's support. The combination of our technology and logistics platform, and brands with strong customer loyalty—together with Eurazeo's extensive brand-building expertise and global reach—is a powerful formula for long-term success. We are excited to continue investing in our core infrastructure to extend the global reach of our portfolio brands and third-party brands in the future.”
At the seed stage, the business was already a seven-figure business and has continued to see astonishing growth," Harlem Capital's Henri Pierre-Jacques told TechCrunch. "Pangaea, to date, has been a brand incubator, but post the Series B will expand to be a vertically integrated e-commerce platform for other brands. We are even more excited for this next phase of their growth.
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