Thirteen Lune is championing the brands it believes in by launching Studio 13, developed in partnership with Helios & Partners.
Studio 13 is a biannual brand accelerator program in which Thirteen Lune and Helios & Partners will work together to select 13 promising beauty brands generating $1.5 million or more in revenue to receive seed funding, physical and digital retail integration, and executive support. Chosen brands are eligible for up to $100,000 in funding per $1 million in revenue.
According to Humphrey Ho, President and Managing Partner at Helios & Partners, the investment firm will be funding the initiative. "By combining Thirteen Lune's retail influence with our strategic capital deployment, Studio 13 provides participating brands with the immediate infrastructure needed to achieve operational profitability and long-term enterprise value," Ho said in a press release.
Founded by Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning, Thirteen Lune is a beauty retail and e-commerce platform focused on amplifying BIPOC-founded brands. It initially launched with 13 brands in 2020 and now offers over 160 brands online and in its Los Angeles flagship store, which opened in 2023.
Thirteen Lune’s growth has not been without turbulence. After expanding through a major JCPenney partnership, the retailer underwent a financial restructuring in late 2024, resulting in its sale to early-stage Venture Capital firm SNR Capital. Investors later sued co-founder Nyakio Grieco, alleging fraud and misappropriation of funds, claims that Grieco denied. The case was dismissed with prejudice in 2025. The JCPenney partnership also ended that year. In 2026, Grieco reacquired Thirteen Lune alongside returning investors like BrainTrust and Fearless Fund, returning the company to founder ownership.
Each cohort of Studio 13, one in January and one in June, runs for 13 weeks, and applications for the January cohort are open from September 25 through November 13.
Thirteen Lune is going farther than funding. Participating brands will receive shelf space in the LA flagship store and a dedicated brand page on the Thirteen Lune website. They will also receive executive mentorship from Helios & Partners, an audit of media and influencer spending, and marketing acceleration through a featured inclusion in Thirteen Lune’s rewards loyalty program. Each cohort will also spotlight three “Standout Brands” that will receive press from industry publications.
"Our mission has always been to build an ecosystem that gives founders the resources and visibility required for lasting retail success, both domestically and globally through milestones like our expansion into South Africa with Takealot," said Grieco. "Partnering with Helios & Partners allows us to extend that footprint by backing early-stage founders with direct access to capital, strategic mentorship, and retail media scale."
Studio 13 also gives each cohort major trade show and physical retail opportunities, plus three opportunities to host consumer-facing events in the flagship store.
Thirteen Lune is not the first to start an accelerator program for emerging brands. Ulta Beauty’s MUSE Accelerator program, which has been running since 2022, offers a 10-week curriculum and $50,000 per chosen brand in an 8-brand cohort. Similarly, Sephora has its own accelerator programs, initially available only to North American brands, but has since expanded them to Europe in June of this year.
What sets Studio 13 apart from several other programs is its requirement of at least $1.5 million in revenue. This suggests the program is designed for brands that have already proven they can sell a product consumers want. The program also uses a revenue-based funding structure, not just a flat grant, which benefits higher-performing brands within the cohort.
As retailers continue to strive to be different, Thirteen Lune is setting rising beauty brands up for success by combining its funding structure with its extensive curriculum for each cohort.