Buy, Buy Baby: Vaultier7 Invests in Eco Diaper, Body-care Brand Joone
LONDON — Having put its money behind the honeybee-based hair-care brand Gisou earlier this year, Vaultier7 continues to bank on the body and wellness space.
Its latest investment is in the French firm Joone, which specializes in eco-conscious baby and mother-care products ranging from diapers to derma-cosmetics. It’s a company that has transformed diapers from a fast-moving consumer goods product to a specialized, health-focused — and aspirational — one.
Vaultier7 has led a $10 million Series B investment in Joone and said it will help the company step up its product development and international expansion plans. An announcement is expected Thursday.
Joone was founded by Carole Juge-Llewellyn in 2017, and offers “green” diapers with a variety of prints and patterns that change with the seasons. According to Joone, the diapers do not contain any chlorine or latex, lotion or perfume, phthalates, parabens or pesticides, while its skin care is plant-based.
The company sells four million diapers a month, while its skin-care products for babies include biodegradable wipes soaked organic olive oil, micellar cleansing water, hair and body wash and moisturizing milk all certified organic by Ecocert. For mothers, there is an antistretch mark oil and body lotion.
Customers can pick the print they want on their diapers and buy them via a monthly subscription service. A “weekend set” of diapers and wipes costs 9.99 pounds while a maternity set, with hair and skin products for the baby, in addition to diapers, costs 99.99 pounds. An antistretch mark set for mothers costs 51.90 pounds.
Anna Sweeting and Montse Suarez, the founders of Vaultier7, said they “immediately saw that Joone goes beyond being another diaper brand, or a baby brand. Rather than emphasizing single products, price, promotions and other aspects many baby care brands focus on, Joone’s DNA is bedded in wellness for the family, with a focus on provenance, people, passion and purpose.”
They said it offers “the cleanest products possible” and advocates “radical transparency without compromising on design and customer service.”
They also pointed out that Joone is the first diaper brand to disclose and explain toxicological analysis, and talk to their customers about supply chain, product provenance and marketing standards.
“We have been watching the category, but we couldn’t see the ‘soul’ in the new wave of ‘organic’ disruptors of recent years,” said Sweeting and Suarez.
“We always talk about partnering with brands with an innovative agenda and a distinctive point of view, and Joone could not be a truer example of this. With them, and their community, there’s a new opportunity to invent and celebrate every single day. We are tremendously proud to join the brand on its journey to be a trusted partner in taking care of their families.”
They noted that Joone has been “community-driven from the beginning, building a love community months before selling any product, and continuing to build it with the codevelopment of designed and stylish products, entertaining events and social media, and with impeccable customer service.”
The uncertainty of COVID-19 has made trust, transparency and safety more important to Gen Z and Millennials, the Vaultier7 founder added, and it’s an ideal time for brands such as Joone to accelerate their innovation and social responsibility agenda.
Juge-Llewellyn said Joone is a pioneer because it is the only company of its kind to disclose price structure and production videos for every product via its online platform Doorz, which uses blockchain technology to trace links in the supply chain.
“We give consumers the ability to voice opinions, stand for values, and contribute to the evolution of the brand,” she said.
Since its launch the brand has expanded into wellness and personal care for women, adding sanitary pads with a transparency model similar to that of the diapers.
In addition to accelerating product innovation and extending its position in France to other markets, the brand said it will continue to invest in technological innovation with Doorz, a traceability tool for customers that launched this year.
Vaultier7 has investments in companies including Gisou, Vestiaire Collective, Axel Arigato and the natural baby food brand Little Spoon. It is a specialist investment fund that looks to partner with growth category creators and disruptors in the converging sectors of beauty and personal care, health, wellness and lifestyle.
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