Maria Nila in partnership with L Catterton

06.09.2023.

GREENWICH, Conn and STOCKHOLM, Sweden - September 6th, 2023 – Maria Nila, the Swedish sustainable professional hair care brand, today announced their partnership with L Catterton, a leading global consumer-focused investment firm.

With an impressive growth in recent years, Maria Nila’s 100 % vegan, climate compensated and award-winning hair care products have expanded to all corners of Europe and U.S in just five years. By partnering with L Catterton, Maria Nila aims to accelerate this growth even further by expanding the brand, product portfolio and sales channels on a global level. The European fund of L Catterton has acquired a significant minority stake in the Company and Marcus Wikström, the son of Maria Nila’s founders, will continue to lead the Company and remain as CEO.

“At Maria Nila, we have always been driven by a single purpose – to provide the world with professional beauty in a friendly, curious, and honest way – and to do this responsibly and sustainably. As the second generation of a family-owned business, I am incredibly excited to partner with a firm who shares our commitment to these core values” said Marcus Wikström, CEO of Maria Nila. “This partnership will allow us to accelerate the development of our product portfolio and brand and expand even further across key European and U.S. markets. With L Catterton’s successful track record of supporting founder-led and family businesses, we are confident that we’ve found the right partner”.

As a leading global consumer-focused investment firm, L Catterton has significant experience investing globally in beauty and fashion brands. Current and past investments in the space include, GANNI, Elemis, The Honest Company, bliss, Etro, Beauty Industry Group and TULA, among many others. This partnership will allow Maria Nila to leverage L Catterton's deep investment expertise, category knowledge, consumer insights, and strategic relationships in the beauty sector.

“Maria Nila represents a compelling opportunity to partner with a truly sustainable and vegan brand in the beauty space,” said Luigi Feola, a Managing Partner in L Catterton’s Europe Fund. “As the #1 professional haircare brand in Sweden with a strong consumer following, the growth potential for Maria Nila is significant. We believe there is meaningful whitespace to accelerate global expansion and increase share in underpenetrated categories by leveraging the brand’s successful go-to-market strategy and differentiated brand proposition. We look forward to partnering with the entire Maria Nila team to support the Company’s growth and build on the brand’s authentic values, which strongly resonate with stylists and consumers alike.”

To follow the journey, please visit www.marianila.com and www.Lcatterton.com.

ABOUT MARIA NILA

Maria Nila was founded in 1999 in a garage in the South of Sweden by Ann and Ulf Wikström, who had a vision to create professional haircare products that were friendly to the planet and to animals. With its own production plant located in Sweden, the Company provides an extensive line of certified cruelty-free and 100% vegan products of haircare, styling, and treatments and, ensures that sustainability is at the heart of every process, from product formulation to fulfilment. The brand is widely recognized for its formula performance and unique designs, which has been rewarded with several international beauty and consumer awards.

ABOUT L CATTERTON

L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $34 billion of equity capital across three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, L Catterton's team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio. Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of the world's most iconic consumer brands.