Shark Tank brand Mad Rabbit receives US$10M to scale tattoo aftercare
23 Mar 2023 --- Tattoo aftercare brand Mad Rabbit has secured US$10 million in a Series A funding round. It marks this success as an addition to the growing investments in the tattoo space.
With the funding, Mad Rabbit will expand product lines and scale marketing and its team to meet the demand for its products – “Currently, Mad Rabbit sells one tattoo balm every 90 seconds and has helped preserve more than 3 million tattoos to date.”
The investment round is touted as the largest raise for the brand. Mad Rabbit is noted for integrating clean skincare solutions for preventative care, new tattoo aftercare and daily tattoo skin essentials that protect tattooed skin and its health.
First investment through a TV show
The Series A round was led by Lucas Brand Equity (LBE) with Mark Cuban, Acronym Venture Capital and H Venture Partners, among others.
Cuban is noted for his entrepreneurship and is best known for his role on ABC’s TV show “Shark Tank,” where entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to investors to gain funding.
Mad Rabbit has experienced accelerated popularity, growing 138% year-over-year.
“We are thrilled to have the support of such prominent investors, who believe in our vision to provide the best possible aftercare products to tattoo enthusiasts,” says Oliver Zak, CEO at Mad Rabbit.
Additionally, Mad Rabbit was featured in “Shark Tank” in 2021, where Selom Agbitor and Zak, the brand’s co-founders, secured an investment from Cuban.
Since the first investment, the brand has experienced accelerated popularity, growing 138% year-over-year. Its products are made from natural ingredients to promote healing and prevent infections.
“I am thrilled to once again invest in Mad Rabbit and support its continued growth since its appearance on Shark Tank,” says Mark Cuban.
“The brand found a need that didn’t have a sophisticated solution. I admire that foresight and ingenuity and am excited about the company’s future.”
Growing investments in tattoos
Mad Rabbit shares that the popularity of tattoos is growing along with an increasing demand for high-quality tattoo products and services. In the US, 44% of the population has at least one tattoo, double the rate in less than ten years.
“This is our second investment in Mad Rabbit, having participated in the previous round, which is indicative of our belief in the management team and the business,” comments Ian Knowles, partner at LBE.
“I have worked closely with Oliver, Drew, Selom and the team over the past 18 months and they continue to prove their acumen as visionaries and business leaders. There is no other brand in the massive tattoo market delivering the range or quality of products and brand experience to consumers and professionals like Mad Rabbit is.”
In recent investments in this space, L’Oréal’s corporate venture fund BOLD (Business Opportunities for L’Oreal Development) invested in Prinker Korea, a micro-printing start-up, to further research and technology of temporary tattoos.
Last year, Bic acquired semi-permanent tattoo company Inkbox for US$65 million to strengthen its position in the growing “skin creative” industry.
The new investment in Mad Rabbit, combined with the previous ones, has led to the brand’s valuation growing four times since 2021 to US$56 million.
Recently, blue 15:3 and green 7 pigments used in tattoo inks and permanent makeup got restricted in the EU.
By Venya Patel
