Holding company Huddled Group has taken a 75% controlling stake in retailer Boop Beauty.
The British brand owner invested a “modest sum” into the company which sells surplus cosmetic products and also stocks brands such as Antipodes and Bouclème.
Huddled Group plans to commit further capital to support Boop Beauty and said with future investments the business would be “well placed for growth”.
Founder Yasmine Amr, a former L'Oréal in-house lawyer, told Cosmetics Business the investment will expand its brand offerings through new strategic partnerships.
“We also aim to boost brand awareness and streamline our supply chain and inventory management,” she explained.
“Essentially, we need the capital to seize this huge opportunity, along with some general business and operational support from the group.
Additional funds will also be provided to the retailer upon completion of the acquisition, which will allow it to purchase “deeper levels” of stock.
Boop Beauty's online store has been taken offline whilst it is integrated into Huddled Group and will reopen in September 2024.
Amr said it will work on transferring its technologies to its owner and move stock to a new warehouse during the downtime.
Yasmine Amr, founder of Boop Beauty
Shoppers can expect a revamped website with an expanded selection of stock and brand offerings later this year, added Amr.
“We're preparing for an exciting relaunch with more brands and products,” she said.
The business was founded in 2023, who wanted to help beauty brands sell remnant, surplus and discontinued products in a “responsible and brand-friendly manner”.
"Over $4.8bn worth of beauty products are destroyed globally each year, many of these due to overproduction,” added Amr.
“The investment from Huddled will allow me to accelerate the vision I had for Boop - I'm excited to be working with the Huddled team to drive the business forward."
Amr will remain with the business both as a shareholder and non-executive director.
“The Boop business concept is fantastic and sits perfectly with the Huddled circular economy strategy,” said Martin Higginson, Huddled Group CEO.
“It was clear that Huddled could provide Boop with some key ingredients – more stock, marketing and fulfilment – to drive growth.”
Huddled Group was founded in 1996 by Lancashire businessman Higginson.