Boulevard backed with US$70 million for bolstering beauty self-care category
11 Aug 2022 --- Boulevard announces that it has raised US$70 million in Series C funding led by Point72 Private Investments. Boulevard will be able to enhance its investment in engineering and development, speed the delivery of new platform features and expand into additional self-care verticals as a result of the finance.
Matt Danna, co-founder and CEO of Boulevard says that “with today’s news, we’ve not only raised capital that will enable us to grow our product and engineering teams, enhance our platform, and fuel multi-dimensional expansion into new segments and verticals, but we’ve also added a partner that deeply understands our industry and our business.”
Boulevard is a client experience platform start-up designed specifically for appointment-based, self-care enterprises. Toba Capital, Index Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, BoxGroup and VMG Partners have contributed to the funding.
Self-care surging
As self-care continues to solidify as a necessary component of daily living, it is developing into an increasingly crucial aspect of health and wellness in the post-pandemic world.
By 2025, it’s predicted that the personal care and beauty market – which includes hair salons, nail salons, barbershops, face and skin care and other beauty services – will be worth more than US$1.4 trillion, while the spa industry will be worth more than US$150 billion.
Self-care continues to solidify as a necessary component of daily living.
Boulevard claims that in 2021 it saw historic growth, more than doubling the amount of its clientele and reporting a 188%rise in yearly recurring income year over year. The well-known company’s robust messaging and appointment scheduling features now include complete payment facilitation capabilities.
Eddie Kang, partner, Point72 Private Investments concludes that “as the self-care industry continues to grow, so too will the role technology plays in creating the seamless experiences that keep clients coming back.”
Cosmetic industry digitalizes
In line with this prediction, consumers have seen a rise in technological involvement in the beauty industry. US beauty retailer Ulta Beauty, for example, has recently spearheaded Prisma Ventures, a digital innovation fund set to invest US$20 million in emerging technology start-ups that seek to shape future online and in-store experiences.
Prisma Ventures works with early-stage entrepreneurs in innovation pillars, such as personalized and data-driven technology, augmented reality, virtual reality, the metaverse, technology-powered custom beauty products and in-store services and social commerce.
Furthermore, a Revieve and The Best You partnership saw a range of skincare products and cosmetic treatments brought to the Canadian audience, setting a new standard in virtual medical diagnostics.
The web technology uses expert-designed algorithms to diagnose distinct skincare and beauty-related facial features from specific areas of the user’s face. “The Best You is the first medical spa in Canada to bring breakthrough AI/AR technology to the industry,” says Sebastien Charles, president & COO at The Best You.
Edited by Mieke Meintjes
