NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LB Equity, an investment firm focused on emerging brands in the beauty and personal care sectors, today announced an investment in Herb Essentials, a holistic, cannabis-centric, lifestyle beauty brand founded by Robert Lund and Ulrika Karlberg in 2015. In partnership with LB Equity, Herb Essentials will look to expand its product assortment, with innovation at the forefront, as well as execute an omnichannel growth strategy. This is the second portfolio investment LB Equity has made through its $50 million Emerging Growth Fund, which concentrates on the beauty, health and wellness, and personal care sectors, with an emphasis on emerging cannabis-based products and companies.
“We are focused on partnering with dynamic, visionary entrepreneurs and brands that set the bar high, use the highest-quality ingredients and add distinct value to the consumer experience,” said Jay Lucas, Managing Partner of LB Equity. “Herb Essentials is a perfect fit for us. The company has a strong, skilled founding management team and we’re very confident in their vision and ability to continue to successfully execute the brand’s distinguished growth strategy, which includes introducing new products made with different cannabis-derived ingredients, elevating the consumer-cannabis relationship and further expanding the brand’s distribution through e-commerce, independent boutiques and larger, strategically aligned retail partners in the US and internationally.”
Herb Essentials offers skincare, personal care and lifestyle products infused with different derivatives from the cannabis plant. Cannabis sativa seed oil is used for its non-comedogenic, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing and soothing properties as well as for its unique ability to help the skin balance its own oil production, while cannabidiol (CBD) works together with the cannabinoid receptors throughout the body to reduce inflammation and stress when either ingested or applied topically.
“We’re extremely pleased to be partnering with LB Equity as we continue to grow our brand and execute our omnichannel strategy,” said Herb Essentials co-founder Robert Lund. “Herb Essentials is one of many entities that are currently starting to normalize the relationship between people, manufacturing industries, the retail industry and the cannabis plant. Our goal is to be present wherever the customer is—from curated, independent beauty and fashion boutiques to spas, yoga studios, and wellness and meditation centers, as well as online through both our own web store and our selected online partners’ sites.”
LB Equity Emerging Growth Fund’s initial investment was in Standard Dose, a first-of-its-kind platform dedicated to the pursuit of elevated wellness through natural healing products. The platform offers educational resources in addition to hemp-based cannabinoid beauty products. Standard Dose opened its first brick-and-mortar location, in New York City, earlier this year.
Herb Essentials products include facial moisturizer, body lotion, lip balm, candles, fragrances and a CBD-infused elixir to promote beauty from the inside. The products, which range in price from $12 to $65, are made with organic ingredients in the US and are never tested on animals. Herb Essentials products are currently available online and in more than 100 brick-and-mortar locations across the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.
About LB Equity
LB Equity is led by Jay Lucas, a former partner at Bain & Company; Karen Ballou, a highly experienced beauty industry professional and veteran of Redken and Elizabeth Arden; and Jim Morrison, who served as President of L’Oréal U.S. for nearly 10 years. The extended team consists of strategy and investment professionals along with an advisory group of veteran industry executives with expertise across core value creation disciplines. Prior to launching its latest fund, which has invested in Standard Dose and Herb Essentials, the firm completed investments in 10 beauty and personal care brands, including MD Complete, Marula Pure Oil, Immunocologie and Blamtastic.
About Herb Essentials
Herb Essentials is a New York–based skincare brand that engineers its products around the unique beneficial properties of the cannabis plant. Founded by Robert Lund and Ulrika Karlberg in 2015, the brand currently offers a range of skincare, personal care and lifestyle products. Herb Essentials products contain no THC, are made with certified organic ingredients and are never tested on animals. For more information, visit herbessntls.com.
