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Sonoma Brands Capital, the private equity firm that has backed Touchland, Merit and Vacation, has made a minority investment in British beauty distributor Discovered Brands, the companies exclusively told The Business of Beauty on Wednesday. Zach Charalambous, founder and chief executive of Discovered Brands, confirmed it represents a minority investment in the region of $15 million, which is typically Sonoma Brands Captial’s largest check size.
Founded in 2009, Discovered Brands works with brands such as hair care lines Ouai and Briogeo and skincare label Farmacy both as a distribution partner, offering services such as operational management, marketing and in-store sales and education support throughout the UK and Europe. It has 10 brands in its current roster, servicing 250 retailers such as Sephora, Amazon and Douglas in 27 countries. Its total door count is approximately 2,000.
“Europe has accelerated and boomed in the last few years,” said Charalambous. “With the investment from Sonoma, we can add additional layers into our infrastructure, hire more talented people and partner with more innovative brands,” he said, adding that the Sonoma Brands Capital partnership will allow the business to continue to help brands navigate the “complexities” of its markets and allow the company to widen its scale.
The company has not previously taken on outside capital. Kevin Murphy, Sonoma Brands Capital’s managing director, said his conviction in the company was rooted in its strong brand roster, executive work ethic and future growth potential, noting it does “everything” for brands in their growing markets.
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According to company filings, Discovered Brands turned over £32 million (approximately $42 million) in 2024, more than twice it saw the previous year.
Romi Dasani, managing director at Discovered Brands said that as more international brands look to launch in the UK and Europe, its business is readying to support demand.
“Brands are scaling so much quicker because of social media, and so there is pent-up demand for them before they launch internationally,” he said. “But launching into a new international market is very costly and laborious. We make that burden easier for them,” he said.
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