Maria Nila, the Swedish professional hair care label, has attracted the attention of investment firm L Catterton.
The investor’s European fund has acquired a ‘significant minority stake’ in the Stockholm-based company for an undisclosed sum.
Maria Nila, which specialises in vegan, climate compensated hair care products, has, in the past five years, expanded its presence across all of Europe and the US.
With L Catterton’s partnership, it aims to accelerate this growth by expanding the brand, product portfolio and sales channels globally.
“This partnership will allow us to accelerate the development of our product portfolio and brand and expand even further across key European and US markets,” said Maria Nila’s CEO, Marcus Wikström, who is also the son of the brand’s founders.
“With L Catterton’s successful track record of supporting founder-led and family businesses, we are confident that we’ve found the right partner.”
Wikström will continue to lead the company in the CEO role.
Maria Nila was founded in 1999 in the South of Sweden by Ann and Ulf Wikström, with the aim of creating professional hair care products that were friendly to the planet and to animals.
It runs its own production plant located in Sweden.
“Maria Nila represents a compelling opportunity to partner with a truly sustainable and vegan brand in the beauty space,” said Luigi Feola, a Managing Partner in L Catterton’s Europe Fund.
“As the number one professional hair care brand in Sweden with a strong consumer following, the growth potential for Maria Nila is significant.
“We believe there is meaningful whitespace to accelerate global expansion and increase share in underpenetrated categories by leveraging the brand’s successful go-to-market strategy and differentiated brand proposition.”
Maria Nila joins a roster of beauty brands backed by L Catterton.
In July, the firm led a US$28m funding round for GlossGenius, the US business-in-a-box platform designed for small beauty businesses and became a minority investor in Italy’s Irene Forte Skincare.
Earlier this year, meanwhile, L Catterton provided ‘significant growth capital investment’ for up-and-coming make-up brand Dibs Beauty, while its Asia fund led a $50m series D funding for Indian Gen Z fave Sugar Cosmetics.
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