Amyris, the biotechnology and product manufacturing company, is shutting down two of its beauty labels: Brazilian skin, hair and fragrance line Costa Brazil, founded by former Calvin Klein designer Francisco Costa; and clean beauty retailer Onda Beauty, co-founded by actress Naomi Watts, The Business of Beauty has learned.
At least 43 employees across the Costa Brazil and Onda Beauty teams in New York — not including its bases in California and Brazil — are set to be let go, according to a person familiar with the matter. Amyris did not confirm the number. A representative from Costa Brazil said the company will reorganise. Amyris will also shutter the sweetener company Purecane.
“We have been actively working to advance our strategic transformation and to create a sustainable company, which includes exiting businesses that are not core to our future,” said Kelly Devers Franklin, Amyris director of corporate communication, in an email to The Business of Beauty. “We are grateful to the teams that led and worked on these incredible brands.”
Amyris acquired Costa Brazil in March 2021 and purchased Onda Beauty in April 2022.
The cash-strapped company parted ways with its chief executive, John Melo, in June and said it would begin job cuts and look to streamline its portfolio to save $250 million. In February, it sold its sugarcane-derived squalane alternative to Givaudan for $200 million cash and $150 in earnouts, raising questions from analysts after the company noted last August it would fetch a price of $350 million cash and $400 million in total.
As part of its bid to become the first clean beauty conglomerate, Amyris developed several other brands with famous faces. It launched Jonathan Van Ness’ JVN Hair and Rosie Huntington Whiteley’s Rose Inc. in 2021, when it shifted its focus to consumer brands while continuing to operate its hard-to-scale ingredients business.
Revenue fell 3 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2023. The brand’s stock has suffered, falling nearly 75 percent in the past year.
