BOSTON, June 3, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Yellow Wood Partners LLC ("Yellow Wood"), a
Boston-based private equity firm
known for investing in consumer brands and companies, is pleased to
announce that its portfolio company, Suave Brands Company, has
successfully completed the acquisition of the ChapStick brand from
Haleon (LSE / NYSE: HLN). This transaction also results in Haleon
becoming a shareholder in Suave Brands Company.
Suave Brands Company Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Alter, said, "As we continue to build
Suave Brands Company as the top independent North American beauty
& personal care company by combining the agility of a start-up
with the power of market leading brands, the addition of ChapStick
is a perfect fit that augments our strategy. This transaction is a
great example of Suave Brands Company's disciplined approach to
value-creating acquisitions and our larger growth strategy."
Suave is a value-oriented personal care brand that sells
products across the hair, body, skin and antiperspirant and
deodorant segments. Suave was one of the first brands in the 1930s
to bring salon-quality hair care to the general public at an
accessible price. The Suave brand sells products for women, men and
kids across mass retailers, grocery stores, drug retailers, and
ecommerce platforms and today is found in one out of every two U.S.
households.
Dana Schmaltz, Partner at Yellow
Wood Partners, commented, "We see strategic value in combining
ChapStick with Suave and as a result of this acquisition, we have
expanded Suave's capabilities and portfolio of products. Our brands
have strong equity and a profitable organic growth strategy in
place. The combined expertise and resources of Suave and
ChapStick will enable us to better serve our customers and
consumers and accelerate growth."
Tad Yanagi, Partner at Yellow
Wood Partners, added, "Over the past several months, we have worked
with Haleon and ChapStick management to seamlessly integrate the
brand into the Suave Brands Company's sales presence, operational
footprint and marketing organization. With the completion of this
acquisition, Suave Brands Company's annual retail sales now reach
~$800 million, and we look forward to
working with our retail partners to take the next step in the
brands' growth."
Yellow Wood's diverse portfolio of consumer brands also includes
global footcare brands Dr. Scholl's and Scholl International;
Beacon Wellness Brands, led by its anchor brand PlusOne®, the #1
sexual wellness device brand; beauty brands Real Techniques and
EcoTools; skincare brand Byoma, and self-tanning brands Isle of
Paradise, Tanologist and TanLuxe. The Elida Beauty portfolio,
recently acquired from Unilever, includes leading brands such as
Q-Tips, Caress, TiGi, Ponds, St. Ives, and Noxzema, as well as
European brands including Brut, Impulse, Monsavon, and Timotei.
Yellow Wood has developed extensive experience working with
multi-national branded consumer packaged goods companies, such as
Unilever, Haleon, Bayer, and Reckitt Benckiser, which enabled the
successful acquisitions of the ChapStick brand from Haleon and the
Elida Beauty portfolio from Unilever this year.
About ChapStick
ChapStick invented the lip care category in the 1880s with the
launch of a now-iconic lip balm that made ChapStick a household
name. Today, ChapStick is the leader in lip care and synonymous
with the product category – it is the #1 brand by volume and has
over 80% brand awareness.
About Suave Brands Company
Suave Brands Company was established in 2023 after Yellow Wood
Partners acquired the Suave brand from Unilever, transforming it
into a standalone company. The Suave Brands Co. mission is to make
trusted high-quality beauty and personal care products accessible
to all. For more information, please visit www.suave.com.
About Yellow Wood Partners
Yellow Wood Partners is a Boston-based private investment firm that
invests exclusively in the consumer industry in the middle market.
The firm seeks to acquire branded consumer products that sell into
a variety of consumer channels, including mass, drug, food,
specialty, value, club, and e-commerce. Yellow Wood's Consumer
Operating DNA investment and operating strategy is based on
utilizing the firm's functional operating resources to help
maximize brand performance by driving organic growth and increasing
operating efficiencies. The firm seeks to acquire additional brands
to create new platform investments and accelerate growth in its
limited number of platform portfolio companies. For more
information, please visit www.yellowwoodpartners.com.
Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC
chris@tofallipr.com
914-834-4334
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SOURCE Yellow Wood Partners