Winky Lux inks majority investment from Core Industrial

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Jul 31, 2024

Clean beauty brand Winky Lux announced on Tuesday it has received a majority investment from Core Industrial Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The New York-based brand said the cash injection will provides additional resources to accelerate growth and expand market reach, across both its digital and brick-and-mortar retail channels. Winky Lux CEO and co-founder, Natalie Mackey, will remain at the company, along with the brand's management team. 

In addition, Winky Lux has appointed industry veterans Zack Zavalydriga and Cassandra Batista to the company’s board of directors.

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“Joining forces with Core is an exciting next step for Winky Lux," said Mackey. "This partnership enables us to meet customer demand, scale our operations, maximize existing retailer partnerships with Target, Ulta and Shoppers Drug, and reach new heights in product innovation. We’re confident Core’s experience and resources will help us achieve our long-term goals while staying true to our brand values of joy and creativity.”

Founded in 2015 by Mackey, Winky Lux has become known for its innovative and clean cosmetics and skincare, including products such as Flower Balm, Universal Brow Pencil, and Peeper Perfect Concealer. 

“The growth prospects and underlying demand drivers of the beauty industry remain highly attractive and we're confident the strength of the Winky Lux brand combined with our resources and operational experience will assist their leadership team in executing against their long-term plans for growth," ​said John May, managing partner of Core.

"We are excited to further our participation in the beauty industry with the Winky Lux partnership.”

Core is a private equity firm with more than $1.58 billion in total limited partner capital investments across four funds, backing North American lower middle-market manufacturing, industrial technology and industrial services businesses.

The firm first entered the beauty industry in 2020 through its investment in Cohere Beauty, a beauty and personal care contract-manufacturing platform.