Eurazeo Set to Buy Aroma-Zone, the Natural, DIY Beauty Brand
PARIS – Eurazeo has signed an exclusive agreement to become the majority shareholder of Aroma-Zone, a French company that produces and distributes aromatherapy and natural do-it-yourself beauty and wellness products through the direct-to-consumer channel.
Under terms of the agreement, the private-equity company and its partners would invest around 410 million euros, making it Aroma-Zone’s main stakeholder. The company’s founding Vausselin family is to keep a significant share of Aroma-Zone.
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A report in WWD Beauty Inc newsletter in November 2020 said Aroma-Zone was preparing to go on the block.
Beauty companies with natural, DIY and d-to-c positioning have increasingly been in the scopes of investors, as they become favorites among consumers.
Aroma-Zone began in 1999 as a site giving information about essential oils. Its business has broadened and boomed, and now involves making and distributing a wide variety of natural DIY products and ingredients, with full transparency about their provenance and composition, plus giving information and educational content.
In all, there are more than 1,900 products and 3,000 recipes from Aroma-Zone serving over 2 million users annually.
Industry sources estimate that the company generated about 100 million euros in sales last year.
Eurazeo said in a release that Aroma-Zone is “offering the best quality at a fair price, based on end-to-end management of the supply chain: upstream through a network of almost 300 partners producing the raw materials and downstream through direct sales to consumers online.”
The company also develops a loyal consumer community that recommends Aroma-Zone products and plays a role in brand-building, plus adopts responsible and ethical business practices, according to Eurazeo.
Aroma-Zone is based in Cabrières, France, and counts more than 350 employees. Its products are sold primarily online, but also through a network of seven stores in France, the first of which opened in Paris, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, in 2014.
Eurazeo said it will support Aroma-Zone on the beauty maker’s growth strategy, giving access to the private equity player’s international network and expertise in the consumer goods and digital spaces. For the latter, Eurazeo plans to help Aroma-Zone develop its online platform in France and abroad, while continuing to open new freestanding stores.
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