Blackstone Acquires Majority Stake In Supergoop

We may be entering the dark doldrums of winter, but Blackstone is already checking items off its summer shopping list. First up: sunscreen.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported the behemoth investment firm is acquiring a majority stake in sunscreen and skincare brand Supergoop.

It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane… No, It’s Supergoop!

Supergoop — not to be confused with Gwyneth Paltrow’s “modern lifestyle brand” Goop — launched fifteen years ago in Texas. The company touts itself as one of the few sunscreen brands with products that double as everyday skincare and makeup, mixing everything from eyeshadow to moisturizer with a healthy dose of SPF.

While they keep UV rays out, Supergoop’s Texas-sized customer base is what motivated Blackstone to get in on the deal:

• Though most of the details are still unknown, Blackstone’s majority-stake acquisition values Supergoop at $600 to $700 million, sources told Bloomberg.
• The cash infusion will drive expansion across the company, among them new product lines for athletes and infants and ventures into new markets including China.

Mind Your Own Beeswax: Supergoop — which uses chemical-free recipes, does not use animal testing, and 99% is vegan (beeswax goes in lip balm) — is part of a fast growing natural and organic cosmetics market, which is expected to grow 8.3% per year from $18.5 billion in 2020 to $32.3 billion in 2027 according to Research and Markets.

Big Business Makeover: Blackstone is just the latest big business to stake a claim in the growing sustainable cosmetics space. Earlier this month, Proctor and Gamble agreed to acquire Ouai, celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin’s hair care company, and world’s largest cosmetics company L’Oreal snapped up Youth to the People, a California-based skin-care brand that uses so-called superfood ingredients. Both firms made $50 million in 2021 sales, proving that money does grow on organic trees.