Cosmetics brand Ilia Beauty has been acquired by the Courtin-Clarins family for an undisclosed sum, according to reports.
By marketing itself as a ‘clean’ beauty brand, the Los Angeles-based group will give Famille C, the business’ holding company and owner of Clarins, a window into the growing category.
But moving away from the ‘clean’ beauty movements' traditional parameters, Ilia’s ethos is based on the notion that not ‘all natural ingredients are good for the skin, nor is every synthetic bad’, the brand wrote via its website.
With Ilia, founder Sasha Plavsic instead attempted to bring the worlds of science and ‘clean’ together.
The brand has also been a pioneer of the skin care-focused make-up category, using formulas that are powered by active levels of skin-benefitting ingredients.
Undoubtedly its hero product has been Ilia’s Super Serum Skin Tint.
Since hitting the market in 2019, more than one million units have been sold of the tinted serum.
“It’s my role in Famille C to identify the brands of tomorrow and therefore [diversify] the family’s assets,” Prisca Courtin-Clarins, a member of the family’s dynasty, told WWD.
“Ilia is Famille C’s first major and strategic acquisition. The idea is to make it the worldwide leader in clean colour.”
In 2020, Ilia gained new financial backing from private investment firm Sandbridge Capital and former investor Silas Capital in a Series B funding round.
At the time, the brand said it would use the cash injection to support its R&D, marketing and sampling missions.
Speaking at the time, Plavsic said: “This capital and partnerships will ensure we can continue to innovate and invest heavily in R&D.
“I strive to offer the highest-performance clean products powered by high active levels of skin care ingredients. These innovative formulas are unlike anything out there on the market.”