Author: Michel Brousset

We have taken an important step in our journey to redefine what it means to be a global beauty and wellness company. Today we launched our new operating and financial platform, Waldencast Acquisition Corp., to create, nurture and scale the next generation of conscious, purpose-driven beauty and wellness brands that share our vision to make the industry more sustainable, transparent, diverse and inclusive.

 

Two years ago, after leaving careers running large beauty businesses, we began incubating innovative and soulful brands and making venture investments in the beauty and wellness space. We worked with some of the most interesting brand artists, entrepreneurs and operators who were disrupting the status quo and whose brands represent the modern, socially conscious consumer.

 

Just as we have helped these brands scale, it’s now time for Waldencast to do the same. The beauty and wellness market is large, dynamic, and growing – driven by the acceleration of online purchasing, the proliferation of disruptor brands, a faster pace of innovation, and an increased customer focus on self-care and wellness. Through our new platform, we will provide an alternative and unique path for beauty and wellness entrepreneurs who wish to navigate this landscape, capture growth and take their brands to the next level.

 

Historically, growth and liquidity paths for beauty founders have taken the form of either strategic acquisitions by beauty and consumer conglomerates or private equity takeovers. We’re creating a third option in the form of Waldencast’s unique model – which offers real, industry-specific operating expertise, the ability for founders to participate in the upside of their brands’ growth, and the opportunity to help build the next generation of the industry.

 

Our portfolio approach helps take some of the execution risk out of the equation while creating an ecosystem that allows us to share best practices, move with agility and capture potential synergies across brands. In short, by combining beauty talent with best-in-class expertise in business development and managing global operations, we believe Waldencast will be an attractive home for emerging brands in search of global operational scale.

 

My partners and I know how to do this better than anyone. Together, we have significant experience in growing big, global beauty and consumer brands. Felipe Dutra, our Executive Chairman, played an instrumental role in building AB InBev from a regional player in Brazil to become the largest beer brewer in the world from January 2005 to April 2020. Our Chief OperatingOfficer, Hind Sebti, has two decades of leadership and operational experience in beauty from her tenure at L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble. In addition, we have built a strong team of beauty operators who are subject matter experts in beauty marketing, product development, digital commerce strategy, supply chain, finance, regulatory, etc. And to this, I add my 25 years of leading, operating and scaling global beauty brands at global companies like L'Oréal and Procter & Gamble.

 

We are fortunate to be supported in our mission by our partner Dynamo Capital LLP and our Board of Directors, which is committed to Waldencast’s focus on social consciousness:

 

·      Cristiano Souza, Senior Partner at Dynamo Capital LLP

·      Lindsay Pattison, Chief Client Officer of WPP PLC

·      Sarah Brown, Founder and Chair of Theirworld, a children's charity

·      Juliette Hickman, former investment analyst and investor for Capital World Investors and an independent director for Montanya Distillers and Keurig Dr Pepper

·      Zack Werner, Founder of The Maze Group

Today is the first step in a multi-year journey to build a global multi-brand platform focused on digital-first, purpose-driven, next-generation brands in the beauty, personal care and wellness sectors.