L Catterton-Backed Kopari Raises $20 Million

Coconut-centric beauty brand Kopari has raised $20 million.
L Catterton, which has backed the brand since early 2017, has made an additional investment. Unilever Ventures and University Growth Fund also contributed to the round.
Kopari, headquartered in San Diego, was founded in 2015 by Bryce and Gigi Goldman, Kiana Cabell and James Brennan. The business started as a direct-to-consumer operation, but has gradually built out distribution through Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Riley Rose, Bloomingdale's, Amazon and Revolve.
Michael Farello, managing partner at L Catterton, said the business had experienced "tremendous growth" since the firm's initial investment. For 2019, Kopari is targeting a 50 percent growth rate, according to Kopari chief executive officer Bryce Goldman.
Kopari's products are centered around coconut oil that is sourced from the Philippines. The brand doesn't use sulfates, silicones, parabens or GMOs, and has the Clean at Sephora seal. While the brand's origins lie in traditional beauty, it has begun experimenting with things on the fringes of the category, like Coconut Deodorant, $14, and Coconut Charcoal Toothpaste, $12.
When the company raised money in 2017, it attracted a slew of celebrity investors, including Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Hilary Duff and Shay Mitchell.
In recent months, adding lifestyle categories has helped Kopari reach new consumers, chief marketing officer Jeremy Lowenstein told WWD in late 2018 when he joined the brand. "The new acquisition of consumers to the brand is just phenomenal…it's unexpected. The growth of personal care, whether it was the oil pullers that were launched in December or the deodorant, these are ongoing replenishable items that really speak to the consumer and they are going to use on a more regular basis than other beauty products," Lowenstein said. While they aren't traditional beauty items, both of those products are sold at Sephora.
Lowenstein is one of the key hires Kopari has made as the business scales up. He came from Coty, where he worked to relaunch Sally Hansen and accelerate global growth for the brand. At Kopari, he's tasked with building out the global expansion plans.
Kopari's Goldman said that with the latest investment, the brand is hoping to "reach new heights" in developing its skin, body and personal-care products. The brand is also planning to use the money to fund product research and development, as well as retail and international expansion, e-commerce updates and its subscription program. Kopari is in talks to expand into more geographic markets. Right now, the brand is available in Southeast Asia and Australia with Sephora.
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