Helen of Troy advances textured hair care with US$150M Curlsmith acquisition

27 Apr 2022 --- Global developer and marketer of consumer products Helen of Troy’s subsidiary is acquiring Recipe Products, the owner of Curlsmith, for US$150 million in cash. Curlsmith products are specifically designed for curly and wavy hair textures.

Curlsmith immediately became the most profitable brand in Helen of Troy’s portfolio, further augmenting the beauty segment’s adjusted operating margin, which is already the highest in the company.

Curlsmith products are a category leader in the developing market for prestige hair care products for curly and wavy hair of all varieties.“Curlsmith is a good fit with Helen of Troy, both strategically and financially,” says Julien Mininberg, CEO at Helen of Troy.

“Curlsmith expands our platform in prestige beauty to capitalize on the fast-growing textured hair market. Approximately 60% of US consumers have curly or textured hair. Prestige textured haircare products are growing ten times faster than products for non-textured hair, and twice as fast as mass-market textured hair products.”

Curlsmith is a compelling strategic fit with Helen of Troy, Michal Berski, founder and CEO at Curlsmith.

“As a market-leading textured haircare brand, Curlsmith complements and brings a new dimension to their prestige haircare portfolio.” 

Curlsmith’s conditioners, shampoos, and co-washes were developed by trichologists and stylists specializing in healthy hair. The products do not contain sulfates, parabens, silicones, mineral oils, phthalates and diethanolamine.

Curlsmith’s potential 
Curlsmith doubled in size between 2020 and 2021 and we expect it to continue to grow at a healthy double-digit rate, notes Mininberg.

Using Helen of Troy’s highly capable global sourcing, distribution and back-office shared service capabilities. The aim is to add value to the business and create synergies once the essential integration operations are completed.

“Curlsmith will complement our Drybar, Revlon and Hot Tools brands by broadening our range of offerings to consumers and professionals across segments and adding more prestige liquids to our portfolio.”According to Helen of Troy, the acquisition advances the company’s strategy to invest in businesses that can accelerate profitable growth.

“We expect to add significant value to CurlSmith by capitalizing on our expertise in beauty and our shared services platform. In beauty, we will immediately add capability through a much larger salesforce in brick and mortar and online, additional DTC capability, marketing, category development, appliance know-how and an international go-to-market footprint,” Mininberg explains. 

Moisture-retaining solutions, hair colors and pollution
Industry has been developing hair health products that address consumer needs. In this space, Imbue, a UK-based haircare business, expanded to the US and will sell its 3A-4C hair care collection products, including styling products, at Target stores and online.

Additionally, haircare brand SheaMoisture previously noted that consumers with hair types ranging from 3B to 4C require moisture-retaining solutions.

Perfect Corp. previously released its Global Beauty Trend Report, showcasing the top 2022 hair color trends with natural hair colors gaining popularity.

In hair care partnerships, beauty company Prose teamed up with BreezoMeter, a climate tech company, to collect data on micro-local pollution levels that affect each customer’s hair and scalp, used to create customized NPD.

Edited by Nicole Kerr