E.l.f. Beauty has made its first acquisition, now owning a piece of the growing clean beauty market.
The $27 million deal, which was paid in cash, sees the company the new owner of W3LL People, founded in 2009 and one of the early movers in the clean makeup space.
“Clean beauty is a strategically important segment given consumer sentiment and strong growth rates. W3LL People has a long history of expertise and credibility in clean beauty that works," said E.l.f. chairman and chief executive officer, Tarang Amin in a statement. "Their brand values and market opportunity align closely with E.l.f.’s strategy and we believe there are a number of synergies to be realised on both the cost and distribution fronts."
W3LL People is expected to bring in $7 million in net sales for 2020 and estimated to add one cent to E.l.f.’s adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2021, the company said.
The plan is to learn from the W3LL People team, with all three founders staying on board, and further incorporate clean beauty formulations into the E.l.f. product assortment.
“W3LL People is rooted in a deep and passionate understanding of clean beauty and shares our mission of making the best of beauty accessible," said Amin. "We believe that W3LL People’s 11 years of clean beauty experience and high-quality product line, in combination with E.l.f.’s multiple strengths from operations to marketing, will be attractive to our retail partners - including Target, our longest-standing customer."
Image source: loudartfordgreenbeauty.com.
