Both businesses are owned by Yellow Wood Partners, which has been building a portfolio of mass-market personal care brands over the past several years.
The company confirmed in a press statement that Daniel Alter, chief executive officer of Suave Brands, will serve as chief executive officer of Evermark. Alfie Vivian, formerly chief executive officer of Elida Beauty, will become president of the European business.
Merger follows Suave’s recent M&A activity
The deal builds on Yellow Wood’s 2023 acquisition of the Suave brand from Unilever, which marked Suave’s transition from a multinational brand to a standalone company.
“As a standalone company, Suave has the opportunity to move with greater speed and agility,” Alter previously told CosmeticsDesign, adding that “we can focus on what matters most for the brand and the consumer without competing for resources across a broader corporate portfolio.”
Since then, Suave Brands has continued to operate in the mass market while positioning itself as a base for additional acquisitions, and the following year, the company acquired ChapStick, the top U.S. lip balm brand by volume.
“We see real opportunity in building a portfolio of everyday personal care brands that consumers already trust,” Alter said in 2024. “That scale allows us to invest more consistently in innovation, quality and supply chain capabilities.”
Elida Beauty brings additional scale to that approach, adding brands such as Pond’s, Caress, St. Ives, Noxzema and TIGI, along with international brands including Brut, Alberto Balsam and Timotei.
‘Combining complementary strengths’
Evermark said the brands will continue to operate with their own identities rather than being consolidated under a single label. “By bringing Suave and Elida together, we can further strengthen our relationship with our customers,” Alter said in the company’s press release. “We can combine complementary strengths to invest in product quality, innovation and accessibility, while preserving the product identities consumers already know and love.”
Yellow Wood said the merger creates a platform with greater reach across categories and geographies. “Bringing these two companies together creates a platform of leading personal care brands that are valued and used daily by tens of millions of consumers across the globe,” said Dana Schmaltz, partner at Yellow Wood in the release. “With its new larger scale and diversification, Evermark will be able to build on its extraordinary brand portfolio to better reach and serve consumers, retail partners and stakeholders.”
Integration to facilitate the merger is already underway, with the transition to the Evermark name expected to roll out gradually across systems and materials in the coming months. The company said it will continue working with retail partners, suppliers and other stakeholders during the transition.
