L Catterton builds Brazil’s largest beauty retail platform

LVMH-backed equity firm L Catterton has announced it is creating the “largest multibrand specialty beauty retail platform” in Brazil with over 130 stores nationwide. 

The deal brings together two long-standing Brazilian beauty retailers, Bel Cosméticos and Mundo do Cabeleireiro. Each chain offers curated assortments of beauty products at accessible prices and claims to have built a strong consumer base and a portfolio of regional brands.

“By combining [the two retailers’] strengths and leveraging our global beauty expertise, we believe the merged company is well positioned to become the partner of choice for both consumers and suppliers across the country,” says Ramiro Lauzan, a managing partner in L Catterton’s Latin American Fund.

According to the firm, the merger will help create a stronger retail partner for beauty suppliers while expanding distribution opportunities for national and international brands. L Catterton hopes that stronger collaboration across supply chain links will lead to more effective product launches.

The two retailers operate in different regional markets in Brazil, which L Catterton says allows the new company to build a broader national footprint. The combined group is also open to selective acquisitions to help it grow and sees opportunities to open new stores to further expand its retail network.

The news follows closely on the heels of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva striking a deal with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to expand K-beauty in the country.

According to South Korean export data, Brazil is one of K-beauty’s fastest-growing export markets, reaching a 115.1% growth rate in 2025 from 2024.

While L Catterton maintains that reach and scale are on its side, the combined companies’ success may hinge on how well they respond to changing beauty trends in Brazil.

Joining forces

The inaugurated retail platform will broaden product offerings across hair care, skin care, cosmetics, and fragrances, and will remain committed to offering a wide range of price points.

The company also plans to invest in omnichannel retail capabilities, digital infrastructure, and loyalty initiatives to create a more “seamless” shopping experience between brick-and-mortar locations and online stores.

The combined group will leverage Celso Moraes, co-founder of Mundo, as its CEO, while Marina Moraes, co-founder of Mundo, and Ivo Barbosa, founder of Bel, will serve on its board of directors.

L Catterton is merging Bel and Mundo to create Brazil’s largest specialty beauty retail platform.Moraes says the transaction marks a new chapter for the companies and will help expand reach. Meanwhile, Barbosa maintains that the combination will allow Bel to keep investing in employees, retail stores, and digital capabilities.

LVMH-backed boost

L Catterton has an extensive portfolio of beauty investments, boasting names like Kiko Milano, The Honest Company, Nutrafol, Merit, Oddity, and Sugar Cosmetics.

The firm was formed in 2016 through a partnership between Catterton, LVMH, and Groupe Arnault — the family holding company of LVMH’s founder Bernard Arnault.

It manages around US$39 billion in assets, and, earlier this year, partnered with Mao Geping to spearhead the premium C-beauty brand’s international expansion.

Big league Brazil

Brazil has increasingly established itself as a hotspot for beauty growth. The country is cited by L’Oréal as one of its particularly dynamic markets after having lifted Q3 results.

In the past few years, multiple multinationals doubled down on their local investments, including Givaudan, which acquired a majority stake in two Brazilian fragrance houses in a span of four months.

More recently, Brazil entered into an agreement with South Korea to make K-beauty products more accessible to Brazilian consumers.

To enable increased cooperation between their respective health sectors. The move aims to ease regulatory barriers for K-beauty exports to Brazil, as the country climbs the charts for South Korea’s fastest-growing export markets.

Against this backdrop, L Catterton’s plans to expand the newly combined retailers’ product assortment and strengthen launches will need to keep up with shifting beauty demand in Brazil.