Dive Brief:
- Seeking to build its portfolio of beauty brands, private equity firm West Lane Capital Partners on Monday announced it acquired Mented Cosmetics for an undisclosed sum, per a news release.
- The deal will provide Mented with resources to help with its distribution and grow the business, according to the announcement.
- As of Friday morning, the Mented website didn’t have products available for purchase, but had a message stating that “Mented is relaunching Summer 2024.” West Lane Capital Partners and Mented did not immediately respond to Retail Dive requests for comment regarding its website.
Dive Insight:
The deal to acquire Mented comes as West Lane increases its investments in the beauty category.
Relative to the deal, West Lane plans to use its industry expertise to help Mented launch new products and support its distribution. Mented is distributed through Target, Ulta Beauty, Walgreens and select CVS stores, according to its website.
"Joining the West Lane portfolio is the right strategic move for Mented and will provide numerous growth opportunities for the brand,” KJ Miller, Mented CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “West Lane's resources in the beauty and wellness space will provide tremendous benefits for the business from both an operational as well as growth perspective. We have been fortunate to have built up a large and engaged customer base and look forward to continuing to provide them with high quality products to suit their particular needs and skin types."
Founded in 2017 by Miller and Amanda Johnson, Mented has built its business model around the belief that “everyone should be able to find themselves in the world of beauty, no matter your skin tone.” The brand produces a full range of cosmetics for the face, lips, cheeks, eyes and nails.
Mented has raised $9.1 million to date and has seven employees, according to data from Pitchbook. As of September 2021, the brand was valued at $35.89 million, per Pitchbook.
The acquisition also builds out West Lane’s portfolio of beauty and wellness companies. The private equity firm just weeks ago acquired the Seven hair care brand from Proctor Lane Investments. The Seattle-based brand specializes in hair care products using “naturally inspired formulations and ingredients.” And over the past few years West Lane has also acquired or invested in other beauty brands, including Simply Organic Beauty, Blossom and the BodySpa Group.
"Mented is a very strong addition to the West Lane platform of beauty and wellness businesses, and we are excited to work with KJ and the team to continue providing high quality products to Mented's loyal customer base," Michael Wentz, a vice president at West Lane, said in a statement. "We see strong synergies with many of our other businesses in the industry and look forward to integrating the Mented business into the West Lane portfolio."
The beauty space has experienced substantial consolidation as multiple brands have been acquired. Natura & Co last year sold off a number of its brands, including Aesop to L'Oreal and The Body Shop to a private equity firm. Additional deals of note have included P&G's acquisition of Mielle, Naturium being sold to E.l.f Beauty and Shiseido acquiring skincare brand Dr. Dennis Gross in January of this year.
