Following last year’s $355 million sale of Naturium to E.l.f. Beauty, beauty brand incubator The Center has brought on another influencer-founded line: Cyklar.
On Mar. 21, the company announced that it has acquired the body care line launched in October 2023 by Claudia Sulewski. A veteran lifestyle, wellness and beautyYouTuber with over 5 million followers across social platforms, Sulewski still owns a stake in the brand. Cyklar’s hero product is a $58 body cream that is sold in a refillable glass jar on its e-commerce site.
“Because of some of the successes that we’ve had, and probably specifically because of our transaction last year with Naturium, there’s just been an onslaught of interest from young brands who are realising that they need help,” said Ben Bennett, founder and CEO of The Center.
Founded in 2020, The Center has become an anomaly in the beauty incubator space, both for its willingness to take bets on unexpected beauty influencers and its ability to sell its lines like Susan Yara’s Naturium to top conglomerates. In contrast, its competitors like Maesa, for example, have chosen to hold on to their top properties like Kristin Ess Hair and Drew Barrymore’s Flower Beauty. The Center’s business model includes brands both incubated in-house and those acquired with influencers or industry experts at the helm. Beyond Yara and Naturium, Saltair was developed with model Iskra Lawrence, and Prequel, which launched in 2023, was created with Dr. Sam Ellis, a San Francisco-based dermatologist. It acquired Phlur and Make Beauty, and relaunched the labels with Chriselle Lim as owner and CCO and former Violet Grey and Glossier alum Carrie Barber, respectively.
With a fan base she has built since she started YouTube vlogging in 2009, Sulewski fits The Center’s profile. Followers watch her content around wellness, lifestyle, travel, fashion and beauty. Fans have also avidly followed updates on her relationship with musician Finneas O’Connell, Billie Eilish’s brother and recent “Barbie” Academy Award winner.
“It changes everything,” said Sulewski of the acquisition. “Getting to do this and having that handhold [from] experts that know what ingredients are the best ones to use, [what] suppliers [to use] and [how to] create responsible products – I feel such a sense of excitement, relief and just total eagerness.”
The line fits into the booming body care movement that is traversing retailers as varied as Sephora to Target. Bennett and Sulewski plan to launch Cyklar into specialty retailers, following the trajectory of The Center’s other portfolio brands. Make is sold at Violet Grey, while Phlur is sold at Sephora and Nordstrom, among other locations. Cyklar is expected to do $12 million in retail sales this year. According to industry sources, The Center will surpass $200 million in retail sales with Saltair, another body care label, and Phlur driving momentum.
While she has a largely Gen-Z follower base, Sulewski said she doesn’t have one target age group in mind, noting her friends have told her their moms have been buying the cream.
“I’m less so thinking of an age and more so thinking about the type of person that really loves to indulge,” she said. “It’s very sweet to hear [about] different ages and genders using this product.”
Body Care’s Big Potential
Cyklar taps into several key beauty trends on The Center’s radar, including the popularity of both skincare ingredients and fragrances in body care.
“We’re just at the beginning of what the body category can be. The skinification of other categories is something that is important to consumers and something that consumers understand,” said Bennett, who noted that Naturium’s expansion from skin care into body care was a factor in its appeal to buyers.
Body care will remain the focus for Cyklar with six new product launches for 2024. Bennett also noted that the brand is looking at offering smaller travel sizes as well as products in the fragrance category for the future.
“We’ve really established ourselves as a body care company and want to continue [that] idea of self care,” said Sulewski.
Bennett added, “The power of a personal care product that’s highly sensorial with a fragrance component to it is really meaningful to people.”
