I’m writing from Vienna 🇦🇹 this week, live from our first on-site in Europe! It's been a fast-paced and hectic time here so far, but I’m now a very novice german speaker! (don’t test me on this)

When building a startup, there's a constant anxiety that you are not doing enough; not reaching enough clients, not building fast enough, not enough visibility for IRI-Sys.

Moments of reflection allow you to truly recognize the work that has actually been done and celebrate the small wins along the way.

It's been a while since we last shared a comprehensive product update. 

The regulatory world keeps evolving. So do we. Here's what's new at IRI-Sys.

Recently shipped features:

Improving the IRI-Sys platform for our clients and hearing their glowing feedback is one of the most fulfilling aspects of building IRI-Sys. We can’t wait to deliver even more features in Q2 and blow our clients expectations away.

We’ve grown our client base by 44% just this quarter.

A lot of time and care has been put into creating a seamless onboarding process and fostering a close partnership with our clients. Our founding team personally handles all customer interactions and this has been essential for our growth.

We have 29X’d our reach on LinkedIn.

We made it a priority to connect with our followers on LinkedIn and the results speak for themselves. We’ve also been able to meet many of our LinkedIn network in person at conferences, and through our travels. In-person conversations are always better than a zoom call ;)

Beauty Bytes (THIS newsletter) has grown by 59%.

This one speaks for itself 😀. We could generate a polished newsletter using AI in seconds, but making the conscious effort to use no AI assistance at all in writing Beauty Bytes has forced us to exercise our creative muscles. In a world drowning in AI-generated content, that muscle is worth keeping sharp.

Q2 is already looking to outshine our Q1 impact. We are releasing a new product this week and another one next week (stay tuned 👀). We’ll be attending tradeshows in Paris, NYC and hosting in-person events around the world.

We’re genuinely fired up about where we're taking this company and the impact we can have on our industry. Safe to say we are well on our way to becoming THE intelligent platform for the beauty industry.

WHAT A TIME to be in beauty! It is hard to remember a similar period of M&A activity for the industry.

Not only did Henkel acquire Olaplex (more below), Advent bought Salt & Stone (also more below), and Estée Lauder announced merger talks with Puig (for which I created an Excel merger model here), but Unilever also divested its food division to McCormick to focus on beauty, health, and wellness.

As we reported in previous editions of Beauty Bytes, it's shaping up to be an unprecedented year for personal care, and we've just finished Q1.

How have the markets been reacting, you ask?

Well, the Beauty Byte Pulse chart is led by Olaplex, whose stock popped after Henkel decided to pay a ~55% acquisition premium. Puig rallied on merger news with Estée Lauder (whose stock slumped). Shiseido seems to be executing well on their turnaround and the market is rewarding them for it. Read more below:

Now, onto the regularly scheduled program of finance activity. There are some big ones in this edition. Let’s dive in:

Henkel AG (ETR: HEN) has agreed to acquire Olaplex Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: OLPX) for $2.06 per share in cash, implying a total equity value of about $1.4b. The deal has already been approved by Olaplex’s board and by Advent, its controlling shareholder, and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Learn more.

Advent International has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Salt & Stone, the Los Angeles-based premium body care and fragrance brand, with founder Nima Jalali retaining an equity stake and Humble Growth exiting its 2024 minority investment.

Terms were not disclosed, but Salt & Stone generated more than $165m in 2025 revenue, with about 40% of sales coming from DTC and the balance supported by a growing global retail footprint that now exceeds 1,700 doors. Learn more.

VMG Partners has taken a minority stake in Vacation, the nostalgic sunscreen brand that, as previously reported in Beauty Bytes, hired Raymond James to run a process. The deal closed in recent weeks, with VMG joining existing backers True Beauty Ventures and Silas Capital, and follows reported 2025 net sales of roughly $60m to $75m, as reported by WWD.

Iota, the prestige microbiome body-care brand founded by Monique Meneses and Ray Kim, has raised its first outside capital from Sidekick Partners, Touch Capital, Era VC, Palette Ventures, and Blueprint Capital; terms were not disclosed.

The company had been self-funded to roughly $8m to $10m of revenue in 2025, and the new funding will support its rollout into 860 Ulta Beauty doors and a broader physical-store push with Nordstrom. Learn more.

L’Oréal (EPA: OR) is reportedly in talks to acquire a controlling stake in Innovist, the Indian beauty and personal care platform behind Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play, Sunscoop, and Vinci Botanicals, at a reported valuation of $350m to $450m. Learn more.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has led a $4m funding round in Nopalera, the modern Mexican beauty and lifestyle brand founded by Sandra Velasquez in 2020. The company said the capital will support retail expansion and new product launches, as it builds on distribution across Ulta, Credo, Mecca, Amazon, and independent retailers. Learn more.

Prelude Growth Partners has led KilgourMD’s Series A round, with existing investors Willow Growth Partners, Joyance Partners, and Able Partners also participating; terms were not disclosed. Founded by dermatologist Dr. James Kilgour, the scalp-health brand said it was profitable in 2025. Learn more.

Beiersdorf (ETR: BEI) has launched a second-generation €100m Skin Care Innovation Fund, doubling the size of the venture vehicle it first launched in 2020. Managed by Beiersdorf Venture Capital, the fund will back early- to growth-stage startups working across life sciences, biotech, sustainability, AI, and digital health, with typical initial checks of €0.5m to €5m. Learn more.

IEVA Group (EPA: ALIEV) has gone public on Euronext Growth Paris, raising about €7.3m at an implied market capitalization of roughly €126m. The company brings together a broad beauty-tech platform spanning diagnostics, personalized cosmetics, editorial content, services, and selective distribution through assets including IOMA, L’Atelier du Sourcil, My Little Paris, and MyIEVA. Learn more.

Kindred Brands, a newly formed beauty holding company, has acquired sensitive skincare brand Kinship in its first deal; terms were not disclosed, though the structure includes an asset purchase plus a three-year rolling royalty to prior financial owners. The new owner plans to reposition Kinship around skin barrier support and expand further in natural grocery, building on early traction at Sprouts and a portfolio where its top three SKUs account for about 60% of sales. Learn more.

American Pacific Group has made a strategic investment in Dossier, the affordable fragrance brand founded in 2019 by Sergio Tache; terms were not disclosed. Tache will remain CEO, and the deal was completed in partnership with the founder and existing shareholders. Learn more.

Unilever Ventures has led a $4.1m Series A in Clayco, the Mumbai-based skincare brand founded in 2024, with ICMG Global Ventures also participating, according to WWD.

The brand, which draws on global beauty rituals and has already reached roughly $7.7m in annual revenue, plans to use the capital to expand its product range into hair and body care, deepen retail distribution, and strengthen supply chain capabilities.