New York-based investment firm L Catterton, which is backed by Louis Vuitton-maker LVMH, has entered into a deal to acquire actor Naomi Watts’ women’s wellness venture, Stripes Beauty, for an undisclosed sum.
The “Mulholland Drive” star, launched Stripes Beauty in 2022, to bring new awareness to menopausal women, and develop special products to meet their specific needs.
Lived Experience
“This is an exciting moment for Stripes Beauty, and I’m grateful to L Catterton for believing in our brand and sharing our vision of supporting women in menopause,” said Watts, 55, a British-born star who started her movie career in Australia.
Outlining the circumstances in which she started Stripes, Watts wrote on her website: “Over the course of my career as an actor, I’ve outrun tsunamis and come face-to-face with ‘King Kong.’ But nothing prepared me for early menopause. I’d wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat.”
Stripes Beauty, which Watts founded in a partnership with biotech firm Amyris, slipped into bankruptcy in 2023, Fast Company pointed out. Watts then bought it back at an auction for $500,000.
“Stripes Beauty’s mission, products, and community are deeply meaningful to me, and I’m thrilled to partner with L Catterton, who is also dedicated to providing solutions to this underserved community,” she said in a press release.
New Leadership
Whitney Casey, a venture partner at L Catterton who led the deal, said the consumer-focused investment firm had followed the success of Stripe Beauty. “We are proud to invest in women and contribute to developing a health platform to address the full range of women’s unique lifestyle needs,” she said.
To drive Stripes Beauty, L Catterton has tapped former Revlon CEO Debra Perelman as executive chair and former L’Oreal executive Cara Kamenev as president.
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Since its founding, Stripes Beauty has built a portfolio of products including The Dream Date, a clinically-backed sleep supplement designed for menopausal women, and several other science-backed personal care and beauty products.
Strong Growth Plans
Founded in 1989, L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm that today manages about $35 billion of assets across private equity, credit, and real estate. It is led by co-CEOs J. Michael Chu, who previously held senior positions at Hong Kong’s First Pacific Company, and Scott A. Dahnke, a former McKinsey and Goldman Sachs executive.
Besides the acquisition of Stripes Beauty, the firm has taken several growth initiatives this year. It acquired and listed Lotus Technology, a leading global luxury electric vehicle maker, and signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Italian beauty brand KIKO Milano from the founding Percassi family. L Catterton also initiated plans to enter India, forming a new joint venture partnership with former Unilever executive Sanjiv Mehta.
