Fragrance and beauty company Givaudan has invested in the series A funding round of Next Beauty, an incubator for emerging fragrance and beauty brands looking to grow in China.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Givaudan said it funded the transaction from existing resources.
Founded in 2018, Next Beauty is headquartered in Shanghai and has around 50 employees, who are experts in identifying high potential premium brands, and in the positioning, marketing and distribution of emerging fragrance and beauty brands in China.
The incubator is also a 5* Tmall partner – giving it a strong digital footprint; it likewise has a strong presence across key social media platforms.
It has launched more than 15 successful brands in China in under three years.
Givaudan hopes to support Next Beauty via its “extensive suite of capabilities… both globally and in China”, while benefiting from Next Beauty’s deep knowledge of the Chinese beauty market.
Maurizio Volpi, President Fragrance & Beauty at Givaudan, said: “Initiating this exciting partnership with Next Beauty China, by becoming a shareholder, provides Givaudan with a further access into the high growth Chinese fragrance and beauty market and is fully aligned with our 2025 strategy.
“By sharing our creative and innovation capabilities, we will be able to generate additional value for Next Beauty as they seek to develop premium brands for Chinese consumers.”
The co-founders of Next Beauty, Yu Lu and Gregoire Grandchamp, added: “Givaudan’s global capabilities and its very strong footprint in China will be a great support in many areas as we look to develop Next Beauty and capture the exciting growth opportunities in the Chinese fragrance and beauty market.”
Switzerland-headquartered Givaudan is increasingly turning its attention to China, with news of its investment in Next Beauty coming in the same month that it strengthened its e-commerce offering in China via the opening of a flagship B2B store on Chinese wholesale website 1688.com.
