Fab Fund’s 13: Start-ups selected by the Beauty and Fashion Fund Created by Lancôme’s Former CEO
Odile Roujol, the former CEO of Lancôme, is an investor and founding member of FaB (Fashion and BeautyTech), a community of beauty and fashion industry entrepreneurs and investors. In 2020, she launched Fab Fund Co-Creation Ventures, LLC, which invests in beauty and fashion startup companies. We talked to her about her goals in establishing a venture capital fund, the fund’s philosophy, and the companies in which it is investing.
Roujol created Fab Fund Co-Creation Ventures, LLC (“Fab Fund I”) through an initial closing in May 2020. This $10 million venture capital fund targets beauty and fashion industry startups from the angel to the seed stages.
Fab Fund I welcomes business angels and family offices in addition to its corporate venture capital investors in the beauty and luxury retail industry. It invests in companies active in clean beauty and sustainable fashion, which have been areas of note in recent years, and also in companies involved in inclusivity, femtech, and wellness.
Fab Fund I was established to invest in promising companies in this highly self-aware fashion and beauty market, but, Roujoul explains, it was also created to support start-ups with a strong desire to improve people’s lives, such as by helping them maintain their mental and physical health.
Roujol strongly believes that diverse perspectives are a business strength. With this fund, she is focusing on promoting greater social inclusion.
Through the activities of FaB, which has sites worldwide, Roujol has witnessed just how hard it can be for women, minorities, and first and second-generation immigrants to secure funding for their start-ups. This is why she prioritizes support for these undervalued start-ups and works to alleviate the inequality they face.
Fab Fund I’s diverse portfolio
Fab Fund I invests anywhere from $50,000 to $450,000 in each start-up, with an average investment of $250,000. It aims to invest in 25 companies over a three-year period, and as of May 2021 has already selected 13 investment targets. Each is a unique and highly motivated start-up led by data-driven founders with a clear sense of purpose, which are among the fund’s selection criteria.
1.Women’s wellness
In the women’s wellness area, it has chosen to invest in Bloomi, a marketplace for women that sells everything from products focused on sexuality to advanced sanitary products and CBD supplements, and Stix, a D2C company that sells pregnancy, ovulation, and UTI tests.
These startups, run by women for women, address issues that are important for women’s health, such as sexual wellness and UTIs, but which are still seldom discussed openly.
Bloomi’s founder Rebecca Alvarez Story is an American sexologist of Mexican descent. She aims to grow Bloomi into a one-stop place to go for women’s wellness care that resonates with BIPOC women and women who grew up in the Latino community, as she did, were discussing issues of sexuality or the female body are seen as taboo. Bloomi uses BIPOC models on its website and its social network presence. In addition to selling products, it also provides lists of chemical substances to be avoided and runs a sex & body-positive blog. It is a source of diverse information that raises people’s awareness.
2.Clean beauty
In the clean beauty field, the fund has selected K18 Hair, a haircare brand that sells products with advanced functionality, made with K18 peptide; Dr. Elsa Jungman, a clean skincare brand for people with sensitive skin, named after its founder; YINA, a skincare brand created by Angela Chau Gray and Dr. Ervina Wu based on traditional Chinese medicine; and Potli, which sells health food products such as honey and vinegar that contain CBD.
This field is also filled with women founders brimming with diversity. For example, YINA is a holistic, high-end skincare brand launched in California that leverages the roots of Asian women well-versed in Chinese medicine.
YINA has made DTC a pillar of its sales strategy and has steadily built up an awareness of the history and scientific foundations of traditional Chinese medicine through its blog and social media posts. The popularity of gua sha, a traditional Chinese folk remedy, and the greater focus being placed on self-care due to the pandemic have provided an additional boost to its business. In 2019, it grew by 40% year-on-year, and in 2020 it grew by 45% year-on-year. The brand also does its utmost to provide support to Asian-Americans, who are increasingly the victims of hate crimes, by sharing the richness of Chinese culture in an easy-to-understand manner.
3.Makeup and sustainable fashion
In the makeup service field, the fund has invested in LUUM, which has developed a machine for automatically applying eyelash extensions using a robot, and LUK, a talent marketplace for the fashion and entertainment industries. In the sustainable fashion field, its investments include the shoe brand Thousand Fell and Kintra, which has developed a 100% biodegradable biofiber to replace chemical fibers.
These companies provide environmentally-friendly products that were developed with state-of-the-art technologies and services which can change the face of the industry. Thousand Fell’s vegetable-based hide sneakers are made from materials such as coconut husks, sugar cane, aloe vera, castor beans, used yoga mats, and recycled plastic bottles. Used sneakers sent back to Thousand Fell by customers are completely disassembled and 100% recycled. They pay for the shipping and provide a $20 discount voucher for the next shoe purchase, encouraging customers to send back their shoes. Roujol praises this new closed-loop supply chain model, which has drawn increased attention as a result of the pandemic.
4.Empowering Gen Z
Investments targeting Gen Z include Good Light, a skincare brand co-founded by David Yi, an Asian-American beauty influencer, Bubble, a skincare brand for teens, and Brightly, a marketplace and community platform for sustainable products.
Each of these brands reflects the values of Gen Z, such as inclusivity and sustainability. Good Light, in particular, is a new brand, just launched in 2021. It was created by Michael Engert and David Yi, who runs the Very Good Light beauty blog, which has over one million supporters. With its motto of “beauty beyond the binary,” it challenges the beauty industry’s extreme definitions of masculinity and femininity. It offers three functional and inclusive products that can be used by all young people, regardless of gender or race.
The “Fab tribe” shares knowledge and aims for further success
According to Roujol, Fab Fund I holds Zoom meetings every six weeks. Almost all of the founders participate in each meeting. LUUM’s CTO, Tyler Simpson, is a robotics leader in Silicon Valley. Dr. Jungman is a chemist. Yi is a popular influencer. Potli’s Felicity Chen is an expert in CBD and cannabis. This group of founders is notable for its breadth and depth of expertise and knowledge. Each person shares their own specialized knowledge and experience, like a tightly-knit “tribe of people with superpowers”, as Roujol puts it, helping each other in various areas, such as product development, growth strategy, marketing, and partnerships.
In the future, she plans to invest in several more startups before closing in October 2021. Preparations are also underway for Fab Fund II, which is expected to extend globally. It is looking at 20 to 25 potential start-ups, with a particular focus on Asian startups.
Text: Ching Li Tor
Original text (Japanese): Rika Higashi
