👋 - Florian Zajic
Hi everyone! Welcome back to another edition of Beauty Bytes delivered straight to your inbox to get you through to the weekend. Here’s the rundown for this week’s newsletter:
I am taking a deep dive into what the conflict in the Gulf region could mean for the personal care industry as a whole, besides the (somewhat obvious) increased transportation costs.
We are still coming off our high after an amazing experience exhibiting at MakeUp in LA a couple of weeks ago. Now, we are preparing to attend Cosmoprof Bologna next week. There, we will be hosting a Lunch & Learn with German contract manufacturer, NELE Kosmetik. Get on the list here.
Or click the image to get on the list for a spot if you’re at Cosmoprof Bologna!
Last, but not least, as always, I have the latest finance news for you, from both the public and private markets. The last two weeks have been incredibly eventful, and the M&A market is showing clear signs of heating up. Read til the end to be in the know!
Op-Ed
Your Shampoo and the Strait of Hormuz
Like everyone else, I have been watching the news on the conflict in the Middle East since I expect the repercussions to be vast and long-lasting. Iran played their trump (pun intended) card and closed the Strait of Hormuz. Oil markets went haywire with brent crude jumping to $120 a barrel, receding, and now being back on an upward trajectory.
But the oil headlines are pretty worn-out by now, so I decided to take a closer look at what other exports that are dominated by the Gulf region might affect the personal care industry (other than oil at $120/barrel driving transportation costs through the roof).
To Long; Didn’t Read (TL;DR): I had no idea how much the chemicals supply chain affects almost every personal care product, and that it is far more geographically concentrated in the Gulf region than I ever would have guessed.
Here are a few items that have a pretty massive impact on the personal care industry, either via secondary or tertiary effects:
Propylene Glycol (PG): This is the humectant (moisture-holding agent) that sits in the top five ingredients of almost every moisturizer, deodorant, shampoo, and conditioner you have ever used.
The Gulf is a major global producer of its precursor, propylene oxide, and separately, Ineos in Europe has now indefinitely shut down its own PG production facility in Germany. Double disruption.
Monoethylene Glycol (MEG): This is the ingredient that gets turned into PET plastic and into the PEG emulsifiers that keep the oil and water in your face cream from separating into a disgusting two-layer mess.
Kuwait alone exported 1.2 million tonnes of MEG in 2025. The Middle East supplies 40 to 50% of all of Europe's MEG. That is, for now, not moving.
Sulfate Surfactants (SLS / SLES): These are the molecules responsible for the foam in your shampoo, body wash, and face wash. They physically grab onto oil and dirt and pull them away from your skin and hair when you rinse. If a cleanser lathers, it almost certainly contains one of these.
SLS and SLES are made using sulfur chemistry. The Gulf region supplies 44 to 50% of global elemental sulfur.
Saffron Extract: Okay, admittedly, this one is a bit more out there but I thought it was fascinating. Iran produces 74-90% of the world's saffron. The cosmetics industry has been growing its use of saffron extract rapidly in premium anti-aging serums, brightening creams, and luxury skincare lines. And the supply just effectively went to zero when it already was one of the most expensive ingredients on a $/kg basis (~$10,000/kg). I definitely should have bought saffron futures…
The Back-of-the-Napkin Math
Using a formula of Global Market ($) * Gulf Share (%) * Personal Care Use (%) = Trade Disruption ($), I tried to put some numbers behind this thought experiment:
Propylene glycol (humectant/solvent in moisturizers, shampoos, deodorants)
$4.7B * 38% * 20% = ~$357M
Monoethylene glycol/MEG (Plastic bottles & PEG emulsifiers in creams)
$35B * 25% * 6.5% = ~$569M
Sulfate surfactants — SLS/SLES (foam & cleansing in shampoos, body wash, face wash)
$8.4B * 44% * 45% = ~$1.66B
Titanium dioxide (UV filter & white pigment in sunscreen and foundation)
$18B * 44% * 25% = ~$1.98B
Polyethylene / HDPE (shampoo bottles, lotion containers, all rigid personal care packaging)
$117B * 30% * 6% = ~$2.1B
Saffron extract (brightening & anti-aging active in premium serums and creams) $554M * 82% * 17% = ~$77M
Total estimated beauty & personal care trade disruption: ~$6.8B
That might not seem that much for a $500-600B industry but when these types of input costs hit suppliers with tight margins, there are going to be domino effects felt by manufacturers, brands, and consumers.
As always in the cases of these supply shocks, the consumer will have to answer the bell in the shape of inflationary effects. Time to stock up on your favorite skincare routine item…
Finance Buzz
👋 - Florian Zajic
Beauty stocks are sending very different signals right now. In this edition of Beauty Byte Pulse, we’re seeing margin-driven rebounds, sharp repricings, and early recovery stories in the public market. Download the full report for a quick look at the winners and losers:
The deal-making machine is HUMMING! We all knew that this would happen in 2026, but the M&A buzz in the industry is becoming palpable. Let’s dive in:
Not Your Mother’s
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (ETR: HEN3) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Not Your Mother’s, the U.S. mass haircare and styling brand owned by Main Post Partners; terms were not disclosed.
Not Your Mother’s generated about €190m in FY2025 sales and has delivered consistent double-digit growth with strong gross margins, per Henkel.
Main Post Partners invested in 2019 and scaled the business into what it describes as the largest independently owned mass haircare brand in the U.S.; the brand was also ranked the #1 haircare brand in Piper Sandler’s Fall 2025 “Taking Stock With Teens” survey.
Catch Up Quick: In early January, rumors broke that Henkel was eyeing a takeover of Olaplex (NYSE: OLPX). OLPX stock jumped ~33% on the acquisition reports. It is now back down to pre-news levels, which begs the question: Is the market pricing in an abandonment of takeover talks, or is the deal discussion still ongoing behind the scenes?
Forest Essentials
Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) has agreed to acquire the remaining 51% of India’s Forest Essentials, taking full ownership after first investing in the Ayurvedic prestige brand in 2008 and increasing its stake to 49% in 2020.
The deal terms were not disclosed, and closing is expected in the second half of 2026, as reported by WWD.
Forest Essentials will continue to be led by founder Mira Kulkarni, with headquarters staying in New Delhi.
Seqens
Solabia Group has acquired Seqens’ Botanical Actives and In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) activities based in Limoges, France; financial terms were not disclosed. Learn more.
Beauty Bay
Beauty Bay has been sold out of administration via a pre-pack deal to French-owned AA Investments Group, as reported by Cosmetics Business.
The sale was executed immediately after Interpath appointed administrators on March 6, 2026; 62 employees transferred, and co-founder Arron Gabbie will stay briefly to support the handover.
Galderma
EQT offloaded their remaining 14.3% stake in Galderma (SWX: GALD) in a $6.2B block trade, fully exiting the position. The placement was structured at a discount to the prior close (typical for overnight blocks) and is being described as a record-setting PE-backed block trade.
Bel Cosméticos & Mundo do Cabeleireiro
L Catterton has combined Bel Cosméticos and Mundo do Cabeleireiro to create Brazil’s largest multi-brand specialty beauty retailer.
Vinci Compass’s NEIII Fund fully exited from Mundo do Cabeleireiro, while Mundo co-founder Celso Moraes will lead the combined company as CEO. Learn more.
Les Secrets de Loly
Lifestyle Fund II, the Quadrivio & Pambianco vehicle, acquired a majority stake in French textured-hair brand Les Secrets de Loly from Quilvest Capital Partners, with Weinberg Capital Partners and Three Hills investing alongside it.
Founder Kelly Massol is reinvesting significantly, and CEO Carlota Thévenot will remain in place. Learn more.
Perfumer H
Elixir 1 Investment, led by former Aesop CEO Michael O’Keeffe, and Ilyos Capital, headed by former Aesop executive Thomas Buisson, invested £3.4m ($4.5m) in Perfumer H. The deal buys out Natura & Co’s venture arm, Fable Investments. Learn more.
Pahadi Local
Reliance Retail has acquired Pahadi Local, a Himalayan skincare brand focused on botanicals and ingredients sourced from the Indian Himalayas; financial terms were not disclosed. Learn more.
Yatsen
Yatsen Holding Ltd. (NYSE: YSG) has agreed to raise about $120m through a private placement of RMB-denominated convertible senior notes and warrants with an investment vehicle affiliated with Trustar Capital and founder-CEO Jinfeng Huang, who is co-investing personally.
The financing will be issued in two equal tranches, carries a 1.5% coupon, and the notes convert at $4.63 per ADS-equivalent, a 20% premium to the recent trading average. Learn more.
LilyAna Naturals
Skyline Beauty Group has acquired LilyAna Naturals, the Amazon-native skincare brand , marking an exit for RDM Partners and its co-investors. Founded in 2014, LilyAna built a strong affordable-skincare franchise online. Learn more.
JiYu
JiYu, a Korean skincare brand with operations in Seoul and the U.S., raised $6.5m in growth capital to fund North American expansion and clinical product development.
The company says it is tracking toward $70m in 2026 revenue, with distribution centered on Amazon, TikTok Shop, and its DTC site. Learn more.