Knox Lane Acquires Majority Stake in Premium Beauty’s Elevation Labs
John Bailey may no longer be the president and chief financial officer of E.l.f. Beauty, but he has certainly not left the beauty industry.
His San Francisco-based investment firm Knox Lane has just acquired a majority stake in premium beauty products formulator and manufacturer Elevation Labs for an undisclosed amount.
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“There’s a certain level of competency and technical requirements to work within this trademark, particularly if you are an innovation partner, and Elevation Labs, through our work in the industry and our relationship with many different brands, really stood out as a true leader,” Bailey, managing partner of Knox Lane, said of the deal in an interview with Beauty Inc. “I do think that there is an opportunity for the market to move from more of a transactional to more of a partnership-driven kind of relationship-based approach and Elevation’s approach to business and partnership really stood out. They have a personal touch, they’re very transparent about how they develop, how they work together with brands hand in hand.”
Elevation Labs already provides formulation and filling capabilities to more than 100 beauty brands across more than 80 product categories, with facilities in both Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Denver, Colorado, but Bailey believes it can do even more, including expanding its geographic presence.
“Despite all Elevation has done to build the business over the years, we believe there’s some opportunity to really extend those resources,” he said. “Categories I would say include providing more technology and transparency to the approach, whether that’s ingredients selection, formulation and impact on cost, visibility to orders and increasing geographic presence.”
Of the deal, Michael Hughes, president and chief executive officer of Elevation Labs, said: “We are excited to partner with Knox Lane to execute on our strategy, given their multiple decades of investment and operational experience in the consumer products sector and track record of building exceptional beauty and personal care brands.”
William Blair advised Elevation Labs.
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