The British FMCG firm Unilever has at present signed an settlement to accumulate US males’s private care model Dr. Squatch from development fairness agency Summit Companions.
The agency referred to as it it a “complementary acquisition” and stated it marked “one other step in increasing Unilever’s portfolio in direction of premium and high-growth areas.”
President of Unilever Private Care Fabian Garcia commented: “Constructing on its success within the US, we’re excited to scale the model internationally and complement our providing within the fast-growing males’s private care phase.”
Of the subject of the acquisition, CEO of Dr. Squatch, Josh Friedman, famous that the model’s mission has been to encourage and educate males to be happier and more healthy.
“We’re simply getting began at Dr. Squatch, and we’re thrilled in regards to the alternative to advance the model’s scale, attain new heights internationally, and entertain and positively join with extra customers looking for high-quality, pure merchandise world wide,” he stated.
The phrases of the deal haven’t been disclosed.
Culturally related model
The Dr. Squatch model itself is at the moment distributed by means of digital commerce, retail and direct-to-consumer channels, primarily in North America and Europe.
The model follows a direct-to-consumer retail mannequin and says that its vary of soaps, physique washes, deodorants, hair care, skincare, and different males’s grooming merchandise use efficacious, pure components within the formulations, with “distinctive scents and high quality components.”
With its viral, social-first advertising and marketing methods, partnerships with influencers and celebrities, culturally related collaborations and limited-edition packs, the model has pushed spectacular gross sales and amassed an enormous and constant following in a brief area of time.
Nevertheless all isn’t rosy, as in late 2024 the agency landed in scorching water and confronted authorized motion for ‘misleading’ pure claims, primarily based on the accusation that a lot of its ‘pure’ components had been really artificial.
In June, the model was nonetheless getting caught up in controversy, this time sparking a backlash after saying the launch of a limited-edition cleaning soap that it claimed was made with bathwater from the actress Sydney Sweeney.
Second acquisition for Unilever in 2025
That is the second acquisition for Unilever to date this 12 months, and it seems that the multinational is selecting small manufacturers that work with pure components and have a sustainability mission, which have rapidly amassed a powerful and constant group and buyer base.
In April, Unilever acquired British refillable naturals model, Wild, whose mission is “to take away single-use plastic from loos.”
