Gloss Ventures, the beauty incubator behind Billie Eilish-loved viral TikTok makeup brand Sacheu Beauty and gen alpha skincare brand Glossmetics, has raised a $15 million in series A funding as it gears up to hit $100 million in sales within the next two years.
Peterson Partners, a Salt Lake City investment firm established by Joel Peterson, former CEO of real estate developer Trammell Crow, with $2.5 billion under management andAllbirds, Glowbar, Bonobos, Rails Clothing and Madison Reed in its portfolio, was the sole participant in the series A round. The round marks the first institutional investment for Gloss Ventures, which introduced Sacheu in partnership with influencer Sarah Cheung in 2020 and Glossmetics three years later, and Peterson Partners often provides the first institutional equity capital in a business.
Quinn Roukema, CEO of Gloss Ventures, says,“We were on a very good growth curve, and we kept exceeding what we projected. There was a very good relationship that was built [with Peterson Partners] throughout the whole due diligence process. We’re collaborating naturally now. It feels very good.”
Brett Stohlton, partner at Peterson Partners, says in a statement, “This is an exciting time for Sacheu as it continues to leverage unique technology and innovative marketing in capturing share. We believe that people make all the difference and are thrilled to be working with Quinn, Sarah, and the rest of the team in building the next great beauty brand.”
Gloss Ventures’ series A funding is being topped off with a $5 million asset-based loan from an undisclosed financial institution. All told, the capital will support team, product, retail, marketing and international expansion. In 2021, Gloss Ventures raised $9.5 million in senior debt from an undisclosed Canadian institution.
Glossmetrics is set to arrive at roughly 400 stores in the United Kingdom in the spring and 5,000 stores in the United States in the summer. Specializing in premium skincare products priced under $10 for the mass market, the brand is currently available at Urban Outfitters, Amazon in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, and 210 Walmart doors in Canada. Its bestseller is $7.99 Lip Glaze, and other products are $8.99 Check Mate Spot Patches, $9.99 Healthy Lash & Brow Serum, $8.99 Dewly Hydrated Moisturizer and $9.99 Peptide Glazed Face Serum.
Specializing in skincare tools and long-lasting makeup products, Sacheu is available at Ulta, Urban Outfitters and Amazon in the U.S., and Boots in the U.K. The brand’s star product, $12 Lip Liner Stay-N, is painted on the lips, set to dry for 10 to 20 minutes and then peeled off to reveal the stain. Other products from Sacheu are $32 Stainless Steel Gua Sha, $35 Stainless Steel Facial Roller, $38 Stainless Steel Body Gua Sha and $22 Slick Skin Serum.
Gloss Ventures reached $40 million in sales last year as its brands picked up momentum on social media and at retail. In December, Eilish featured Sacheu’s Lip Liner Stay-N in a TikTok video detailing her pre-show makeup routine that racked up 4 million likes in 24 hours. Sacheu’s sales jumped 500% last year, when it rolled out chain-wide at Ulta and drew 2.5 billion views on TikTok.
“We kept exceeding what we projected.”
“We’re answering a massive consumer demand for makeup that’s easy to use and that you can rely on to stay in place all day,” says Roukema. “Combined with our creator-driven marketing engine and our omnichannel strategy, it’s really been powerful in terms of sales growth.”
Launched in 2020 as an incubator and acquirer of beauty and wellness brands, Gloss Ventures has shed assets from its portfolio to focus on incubated brands Sacheu and Glossmetics. Active Wow and Vitamin Bounty, two brands it acquired in 2021 in the oral care and vitamin categories, respectively, were sold off to undisclosed third parties. Pursuit Beauty, a sunscreen and skincare brand that it incubated in 2022, was sold last year to Tapia Holdings. Gloss Ventures has no immediate plans to incubate or acquire further brands, according to Roukema.
Affiliate-produced content has been pivotal in Sacheu’s social media strategy. Gloss Ventures works with over 100,000 affiliates to generate awareness for it and Glossmetics. Two-thirds of Sacheu’s sales have been generated online, including its direct-to-consumer website, TikTok Shop and Amazon. The rest is from brick-and-mortar retail. In the second full week of January, Sacheu was Amazon’s tenth highest performing beauty and personal care brand, per Roukema. Lip Liner Stay-N has been the top-selling lip liner on the platform for over a year.
Roukema is betting on Sacheu’s omnichannel presence to cushion the blow should the TikTok ban get reenacted. “We’re seeing a lot of cross-channel repurchases,” he says. “The consumer wants ease, and they want to buy where they want to buy.”
Glossmetics’ sales are more heavily skewed toward brick-and-mortar retail than Sacheu, and it accounts for 70% of them. With its planned retail expansion this year, Roukema says the brand is on track to become an eight-figure business.
Gloss Ventures has over 30 employees working across Los Angeles, Montreal and London. It expects to open an office in Amsterdam in the future. Its Los Angeles headquarters was recently closed due to the outbreak of wildfires in the city, although it reopened earlier this week. Roukema says, “We wish for a swift recovery of the city and wish strength to all who have suffered losses during the fires.”
