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Clean Skin Club, a mass skincare brand known for its single-use disposable face towels, announced today that it has closed a $32 million investment round led by US-based growth equity fund Astō Consumer Partners, with support from California-based Amberstone Ventures.
The brand will use the investment to continue its retail expansion, hire top beauty industry talent, and develop new varieties of its fabric technology, founder Ben-David Imberman told The Business of Beauty.
“We were just looking for the right partner to help walk us through those next steps,” Imberman said.
Imberman and co-founder Mor Shnaider launched Clean Skin Club as a direct-to-consumer brand in 2019, inspired by their previous spa business, after hearing an aesthetician complain about bacteria-laden towels. Its hero product, the Clean Towel XL, is made to be an alternative to using a standard washcloth to dry one’s face. Since launch, it has more than tripled its annual revenue year-on-year — to $2.6 million in 2020, just under $10 million in 2021, and $47 million at the end of 2023, said Imberman.
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The founders “have very informed personal points of view, just given the high touch — the literal touch — that they’ve had in this space,” said Clayton Christopher, the founder of Astō Consumer Partners. He added that the brand’s e-commerce metrics, like customer retention, are “are as good as they get out there.”
This year, two months after its soft launch at Target, the brand hit the nine-figure revenue mark. Imberman plans to solidify the partnership with Target into an exclusive retail partnership through 2025.
“In order to become a legacy brand that lasts for decades, we must plant our flag inside retail and keep our flag up on Amazon,” Imberman said. He added that the brand will invest more in traditional media marketing, through TV, podcasts, radio and newspapers.
Christopher, who founded Astō this year, is a serial entrepreneur in the beverage industry, having founded Sweet Leaf iced tea, Deep Eddy vodka and Waterloo sparkling water (with co-founders Sean Cusack, Brandon Cason, and Daniel Barnes). Asto has currently raised around $177 million, and plans to raise a total $425 million, according to SEC filings. Clean Skin Club is the firm’s first investment so far. Amberstone, which invests in beverage and wellness companies, has also invested in upscale DTC haircare label Crown Affair.
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