Corporate beauty powerhouse is born as BOOST LAB secures $5 million in Series B funding and merges with booming acne brand, tbh Skincare. Both brands will join hands under the new York St Brands corporate umbrella, taking advantage of the chance to combine resources and skill sets and rapidly accelerate both brands.
The merger will enable both brands to drive efficiencies across the newly unified internal team, develop new products, expand their international footprint, and unlock new distribution channels under the banner of York St Brands. BOOST LAB launched in Australia in October 2020 with a range of high-quality, science-backed serums targeting seven of the most common skin concerns. Founded by husband-and-wife team Craig and Lisa Schweighoffer, BOOST LAB has drawn on Australian skincare expert Craig’s prior experience with ECOYA, Trilogy and Skin Physics to build an incredible retail-first beauty brand.
tbh Skincare exploded onto the Australian market just six months earlier with a market-disrupting acne treatment labelled a “miracle” by the brand’s dedicated fans. It was a fortuitous encounter with an innovative new technology that led to founder Rachael Wilde creating tbh Skincare to begin with. But it was her background in digital marketing that led to the brand’s remarkable achievements in the direct-to-consumer space. By combining both of these skillsets, York St Brands has identified a unique opportunity to not just drive efficiencies with the in-house teams but to further tbh Skincare and BOOST LAB’s’ stratospheric growth.
While both brands will, outwardly, remain separate from each other, York St Brands has announced a merged executive team. Craig Schweighoffer will step into the role of York St Brands’ CEO, with tbh skincare’s co-founders Rachael Wilde and Bridget Mitchell taking on the roles of CMO and CFO respectively. Raj Ghatge, the current GM of Sales & Marketing BOOST LAB will become York St Brands’ COO and Dr Curtis Crasto as Head of Innovation, with a best-in-class marketing and ops team soon to be announced.
“As lead investors on this round and major shareholders and seed investors in BOOST LAB, we are excited to now be partnering with tbh skincare and moving both brands under a house of brands structure and creating York Street Brands. The growth to date across both brands has been stellar and we are confident this will continue," said Jason Rich, Partner, ALIUM Capital.
“It's fantastic to be partnering with such a strong brand and outstanding founders, in Racahael and Bridget. It truly is a match made in heaven with York Street Brands having a complete management team that is without peer. Further, with a strong balance sheet, York Street Brands can fast-track the significant growth opportunities that lay ahead. Exciting times," said Craig Schweighoffer, Founder & CEO, BOOST LAB
"Bridget & I are very excited to be joining forces with the BOOST LAB team. It is very rare to find such complementary skill sets across two businesses at an executive level. We feel extremely lucky to be able to work side by side with someone like Craig who has such a wealth of experience in the industry. We feel well equipped to take on this next stage of growth for both businesses as a united team and can't wait to see what's to come," said Rachael Wilde, Co-Founder & Head of Marketing tbh Skincare.
The move means that ALIUM Capital, who have been BOOST LAB’s largest investor since its launch in 2020, will become a key backer of York St Brands. As a cross-over investment fund, Alium Capital invests in technology and innovation both domestically and internationally, backing early-stage businesses all the way through to publicly listed assets. York St Brands now joins a portfolio including Koala, Respondent, Ned, DesignCrowd and HealthEngine, among many more.
The effects of the York St Brands merger are already making themselves felt, with a huge 2023 in-store for both brands. tbh Skincare has just launched into Priceline, bringing its patented products to more than 400 stores across the country. BOOST LAB, too, will be expanding its retail presence into both Terry White Chemart stores nationally, taking the brand to more than 1500 stockists. BOOST LAB is also rapidly expanding its product range, having just released four new products this month across both its online storefront and retail channels.
