Pat McGrath Labs expanding US distribution, thanks to Eurazeo Brands investment

17-Jul-2018 - Last updated on 18-Jul-2018 at 18:39 GMT

This week the consumer division of the global investment company announced its minority investment in the makeup brand created just two years ago by the woman Vogue calls “the most influential make-up artist in the world.”

Eurazeo Brands is led by CEO Jill Granoff, who’s been with the company for just over a year. She also currently serves as chairman of the board for Nest Fragrances and is a strategic advisor for the elegant women’s fashion brand Lafayette 148.

Granoff is well-equipped to help lead Pat McGrath Labs; particularly so because “at Victoria's Secret Beauty…she helped to double sales from $500m to $1bn and launched the brand internationally during her tenure as president and chief operating officer,” as the media release announcing the investment in Pat McGrath Labs emphasizes.

“We are honored to be working with Pat, whose vision, talent and trailblazing history in the beauty industry have set Pat McGrath Labs up to be one of the most authentic and innovative makeup brands to ever come to market,” Granoff, tells the press. “We’re excited to combine our experience of building global beauty and fashion brands with Pat and her team’s unmatched creativity and passion.”

Larger than life

Commenting on this week’s $60m investment from Eurazeo Brands, Pat McGrath confirms, “It has always been my dream to create an iconic beauty brand that goes beyond the usual limitations, that lives outside the parameters of what is expected. I am thrilled to be working with the unique and expert team at Eurazeo Brands.”

So later this year, Pat McGrath Labs will launch a new collection of products—in categories that are new to the brand. Thus far, the brand specializes in color products including lip sticks, lip balms, lip glosses, eye shadow palettes, and highlighter kits. The Pat McGrath Labs brand got its start with a single metallic pigment: Gold 001, which garnered tremendous media attention and reportedly sold out in just 6 minutes of its launch.

The brand has been coveted by makeup artists and beauty lovers world-wide ever since. Which may explain why a key objective for the brand going forward is to make Pat McGrath Labs beauty products available to more consumers. “We look forward to joining Pat McGrath Labs on its global journey to reach millions of new consumers who have followed the brand for years,” Virginie Morgon, CEO of Eurazeo, says in his remarks to the press.

“We love to partner with brilliant entrepreneurs like Pat and believe this investment will be a success.”

A truly global brand

ONE Luxury Group also owns a minority stake in Pat McGrath Labs and this latest deal with Eurazeo Brands brings the outside funding total up to $88m.

Pat McGrath Labs already, undoubtedly has the brand awareness to convert substantially more consumers in and beyond the US. The brand has tallied more than 30bn media impressions since its launch in 2016, has had several top-selling SKUs at Sephora, and was voted the most engaged beauty brand on Facebook (according to details shared in the release).

So “the new capital will help Pat McGrath Labs build on its incredible success and enable the company to further expand its distribution in the US, as well as meet increasing demand worldwide,” according to the press release.

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.