Summer Fridays announced on Thursday a strategic growth investment from private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners. Previous investor Prelude Growth Partners will exit the business, while co-founders Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland will retain a “significant” stake. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In January, The Business of Beauty identified the brand as a top M&A target, having capped off a banner year in 2023 wherein an instant-hit shade extension to its Lip Butter Balm helped push retail sales to $150 million. This year, the brand’s forecast retail sales are expected to reach $200 million.
Summer Fridays is known for its premium products that blur the lines between skincare and makeup, and has a canny knack for identifying the next big thing in beauty. The 2023 Lip Butter Balm shade extension added tinted shades to its original clear edition, which launched in 2020. The timing couldn’t have been better: the products hit the shelves as young shoppers began to favour sheerer, more balm or oil-like products over lipsticks. Its core offering, which includes the moisturising Jet Lag Mask, its original product, and its Shade Drops sunscreen range provided further buoyancy.
“We’ve really seen incredible growth in the last few years, and we know that we really need to support that growth,” said Hewitt. “We have really big goals for where we want to get to,” she said, adding that she and co-founder Ireland want to create a legacy brand that will be around for “decades to come.”
“To do that, there are capabilities that we need, especially when we think about expanding globally,” said Hewitt, citing digital and operational insights and capabilities as a big selling point of TSG, who the brand had been in contact with since it launched in 2018.
The investment in Summer Fridays also marks some much-anticipated M&A action in beauty. 2024 was predicted to be a frothy dealmaking year, with numerous buzzy brands such as Makeup by Mario, Kosas and One/Size all seeking a buyer or partner. But a blockbuster transaction hasn’t been announced since K18′s and Dr Dennis Gross’s sales to Unilever and Shiseido at the end of last year.
With so much makeup in the market, Summer Fridays, as a brand with authority in skincare, likely stood out enough to find a big-ticket growth partner.
“Summer Fridays has been incredibly successful at Sephora,” said Priya Venkatesh, global chief marketing officer at Sephora, describing the lip butters as a sensation, and saying their products are approachable and fun. “They have consistently introduced innovations…[the brand is] set to become a global bestseller.”
Levelling Up
To achieve global scale, Summer Fridays is likely in good hands. TSG previously sold premium hair care line Pureology to L’Oréal in 2007, after increasing its sales fivefold and nearly doubling its profit margins. In 2010, it sold prestige cosmetics line Smashbox to Estée Lauder having tripled its revenue and improved its profit from breakeven to roughly 20 percent EBITDA in four years.
Hewitt said she and Ireland were particularly inspired by the success of It Cosmetics, which received a minority investment from TSG in 2012, and sold to L’Oréal for $1.2 billion in 2016.
“We have so much more we want to do with Summer Fridays,” said Hewitt, adding that her and Ireland would know “where [its] perfect home is” in the coming years.
Ireland and Hewitt said their top priorities were continued global expansion and deepening its penetration in the skincare category, as well boosting headcount. “Our team is trying to catch up to the growth,” said Hewitt. Summer Fridays has launched into the UK, and is now looking to further expand into Europe, having already added roles in London and Paris.
Being a ‘Forever Brand’
Summer Fridays, as a socially-native brand founded by two influencers with 1.3 million Instagram followers between them, has had no difficulty securing viral hits. As the brand grows, Hewitt and Ireland hopes to stabilise that balance of foundational, core offerings and trendy successes.
“Working with TSG now allows us to secure that mindset of … creating one of the biggest skincare brands,” said Ireland. “We have these sellout viral moments, [but] the focus really at our core is how we are creating products that people will love today, and for decades to come.”
Adding to successful franchises like Jet Lag and its lip offering is part of that movement, said Ireland, as well as focussing on community events and engagement as the brand grows globally.
“We’re so excited to be able to give [our customers] the products that they want, no matter where they are,” she said.
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