Lanolips has secured a minority investment from Point King Capital.
Lanolips, which makes lanolin-based products and is known for its 101 Ointment Multipurpose Superbalm, $16.95, continues to be majority owned and run by founder and chief executive officer Kirsten Carriol. Tammy Pall will continue in her role as general manager and brand president.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Lanolips is said to be growing in the double digits and have about $10 million in sales.
With the Point King investment, Lanolips plans to deepen partnerships with existing retail partners, hire key talent, grow globally and launch new products, Carriol said.
“We can see that immediate opportunity to really supercharge where we’re going,” Carriol said.
Both Point King and Lanolips are based in Australia. There, Lanolips is sold at Mecca, Sephora and Priceline.
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The U.S., where Lanolips is sold through Ulta Beauty, Anthropologie and Target, is the brand’s largest market, with about 40 percent of sales. Lanolips is also sold through Sephora Hong Kong, Sephora Europe, Boots, Cult Beauty, Harrods, Waitrose, Selfridges and Net-a-porter. Worldwide, Lanolips is in about 3,000 doors in 25 countries, Carriol said.
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“We’ve got top-tier retail partners and we’ve maintained them over many years, and now one of our strategies is to continue to grow with current retail partners and work with their strengths,” Carriol said. She noted that retail rules seem to “change every six months,” but that the brand is nimble and able to evolve with partners.
“From the very beginning, I pictured us being a household name around the world. I felt like I built the brand to be a brand that would be a generational brand,” Carriol said.
“The business is already very global and we’re passionate about helping the global growth of the brand,” said Sam McKay, founding partner at Point King, who also noted that Lanolips is differentiated because it can live in mass and high-end distribution.
Lanolips also plans to further develop e-commerce operations, but is “mindful not to cannibalize” retailer partners, Carriol said.
Lanolips’ products are hydration focused, and contain lanolin that is sourced from Australian sheep farmers. The brand has a broad variety of lip balms and glosses, as well as a small assortment of face and body products. Carriol said the brand’s shoppers gravitate towards “anything multipurpose.”
Going forward, Lanolips plans to launch new products in new categories, including branching further into skin care, Carriol said. This week, the brand is bringing the 101 franchise into skin care with a new Dry Skin Super Cream for face and all over, she said. “It’s a big deal for us because we’re really launching into that skin care space,” Carriol said.
Carriol said she partnered with Point King because of their experienced management team “who’ve done this many times.” Point King has also invested in Beautychef, Esmi Skin Minerals and Bybi. Allison Malcolm from Point King will join Lanolips board of directors.
Wallis Graham and Deutsch Miller advised Lanolips, while Corrs Chambers Westgarth and EY advised Point King.
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