News

Castanea Partners has acquired a minority stake in Tatcha, a luxury skincare brand. No financial terms were disclosed. In addition to the investment, Castanea’s Janet Gurwitch and Steve Berg will be joining Tatcha’s board of directors. Financo and Mintz Levin represented Tatcha on the deal while Ropes & Gray represented Castanea.

PRESS RELEASE

NEWTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Castanea Partners announced today that it has made a minority investment in Tatcha, a luxury skincare brand with a collection of products inspired by timeless Japanese beauty rituals.

Founded by Victoria Tsai in 2009, Tatcha offers a line of serums, moisturizers, mists, exfoliants, and cleansers. The Tatcha name is derived from tachibana, the classical Japanese art of flower arranging that features a single “standing flower”, representing the beauty of simplicity. This philosophy drives the company’s approach in creating pure, naturally-powered formulas. Tatcha’s collection is distributed through the company’s website, Sephora North America, QVC, and other domestic and international wholesale and specialty retail stores.

“Tatcha stands out for its high-quality products and authentic brand heritage,” said Steve Berg, a Managing Partner at Castanea. “We look forward to working with Vicky and the team to support the company’s growth.”

“We’re honored to work with Castanea because of their unique experience in building luxury brands in beauty and beyond,” said Vicky Tsai, Tatcha’s CEO. “Steve and Janet are star players in the beauty industry and have a reputation for being great partners. We are also deeply grateful to Financo for bringing us together, and to Vennette Ho for her tireless work to help us find our perfect match.”

“We believe that Castanea is the right thought partner to build a luxury, digitally-driven brand for the future,” added Brad Murray, Tatcha’s President.

“This is a very exciting investment for us,” said Janet Gurwitch, Operating Partner at Castanea, and former founder and CEO of Laura Mercier. “The company is at a stage in its development where our deep industry and operating expertise will add value as Tatcha pursues its global growth potential.”

Janet Gurwitch and Steve Berg will be joining Tatcha’s board of directors.

Financo and Mintz Levin represented Tatcha and Ropes & Gray represented Castanea in the transaction.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Tatcha
Tatcha LLC is a global luxury beauty and lifestyle company founded in 2009 by Victoria Tsai. While in Kyoto, Tsai discovered the timeless beauty rituals of Japan, beloved for centuries and practiced even today. Through her research, she unearthed a 200-year old beauty manuscript detailing the rituals made popular by geisha. “Tatcha” refers to the Japanese word for “standing flower” and is the inspiration for the company’s pure and simple approach to effective skincare without harmful additives or unnecessary ingredients. The collection is available at Barneys New York, Sephora, Joyce Beauty Hong Kong, Mecca Australia and TATCHA.com.

About Castanea
Castanea Partners is a middle-market, consumer-focused private equity firm founded by operating executives and private equity professionals. We partner with promising, small and mid-sized consumer product and services brands, including companies in lifestyle apparel and accessories, beauty and personal care, food and beverage, and outdoor and leisure. We typically invest between $15 to $150 million of equity in businesses where we have investing and operating expertise. Castanea has approximately $1 billion under management and is currently investing from a $600 million fourth fund. More information about Castanea Partners is available at www.castaneapartners.com.