Thirteen Lune, the inclusive beauty retailer co-founded by industry veterans Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning, closed an $8 million seed investment round with new participation from BrainTrust Founders Studio.

WHO: Thirteen Lune is a retail destination designed to inspire the discovery of beauty brands, and to be a vehicle for change and a platform for authentic allyship where the voices of Black and Brown beauty founders are heard and celebrated. Thirteen Lune is a result of a partnership between Nyakio Grieco, founder of Nyakio Beauty, which is based on her family's African culture and traditions, and Patrick Herning, founder and CEO of size-inclusive e-commerce platform 11 Honoré.

In two short years, Thirteen Lune has grown from an e-commerce destination featuring 13 foundational Black-founded brands, to offering 160+ beauty brands on its platform, 90% of which are BIPOC founded, with the remaining 10% being from ally brands. Last year the brand launched its first private-label brand Relevant: Your Skin Seen. In 2023, Thirteen Lune will continue expanding into 600 JCPenney locations nationwide and will open a flagship store in Los Angeles.

WHY: The capital raise will drive its omnichannel approach, supporting brick and mortar, experiential retail, and Relevant: Your Skin Seen brand expansion.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "As a 20+ year Black beauty entrepreneur, it's an honor to shape the landscape of inclusive beauty, acting as an agent of change for BIPOC brand founders to receive recognition and opportunity," says Nyakio Grieco, Thirteen Lune co-founder. "Our partners share Thirteen Lune's mission to support diverse founders who have historically had fewer resources and opportunities to build a business and create generational wealth."

"Since the launch of Thirteen Lune in 2020, we've proven that inclusivity and scalability are not mutually exclusive," says Patrick Herning, Thirteen Lune CEO and co-founder. "With a mission to inspire the discovery of BIPOC-founded brands for people of all colors and backgrounds, we enter 2023 continuing to lead with intention and authenticity that will position us to continue our growth and momentum."

DETAILS:

• Thirteen Lune raised $8 million plus in a seed round with new participation from BrainTrust Founders Studio. With this investment, the company will reach profitability in 2023. 
• This round brings funding raised to date by the retailer to $12.5 million.
• The retailer saw 2,000%+ year-over-year sales growth in 2022 fueled by the launch of its first private-label brand, the expansion of its in-store partnership with JCPenney Beauty, and the addition of nationally recognized BIPOC-founded brands Ami Colé, Buttah Skin, and Pattern Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross.
• In November 2021, Thirteen Lune raised a $3 million round led by Fearless Fund with participation by Capstar Ventures, Fab Ventures, Swiftarc Beauty, and Gaingels. 
• In January 2021, Thirteen Lune raised $1 million in funding from investors that include Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Combs, Naomi Watts, Gregg Renfrew of Beautycounter, Tracey Cunningham of Mèche salon, former US Ambassador Nicole Avant, venture capitalist Patrick Finnegan, and Sydney Holland of The Urban + The Mystic.