Hair Brand Everist Closes Funding Round Led by Sandbridge Capital
Hair care brand Everist has a new investor.
The brand, founded by Jayme Jenkins and Jessica Stevenson in 2021, has closed a funding round with existing pre-seed investors and led by Sandbridge Capital.
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Financial terms of the round were not disclosed, though the company is coming off the heels of “an incredible year of profitable growth,” said Jenkins.
Everist, which promises skin care-led formulas that eschew water for both hair and body, took “the first couple of years of learning, iterating on the product and packaging, talking to our community,” Jenkins said. “We had to message this product in a way that was intuitive for people to understand. When you have something novel, it takes a while to explain it in a way that it makes sense.”
The brand has a 77 percent smaller carbon footprint than competitors, and the formulas are 50 percent skin care, and employ aloe and glycerin as the bases in lieu of water. Jenkins, who worked previously at L’Oréal, and Stevenson, who held roles at Revlon, have been focusing on building the company’s direct-to-consumer channel.
“We had exponential growth there in the last year and a half. We’re at this pivot point where we have a lot of opportunities ahead,” Stevenson said of the brand’s willingness to take investment.
“We were able to unlock DTC because we stay so close to our consumer. As we think about retail, we also wanted to make sure we’re building brand awareness and community first,” she said. “Our goal is to have the business be 50-50 in terms of channel splits; we’re about being accessible and that does require different channels.”
“Strategically moving forward, we know that shopping in real life and having the discovery moments is important. And we’re looking at that,” Jenkins said. “With the Sandbridge raise, getting ready for doing retail right, and with the right partner, is a huge part of that.”
Sandbridge’s track record of successful exits is extensive, from Ilia and Youth to the People on the beauty side to Thom Browne on the fashion side. Peach & Lily, Ceremonia and U Beauty are in the portfolio, among others.
“Everist impresses with its best-in-class hair care meets skin care offering, which clearly explains why consumers are so excited about the stellar lineup of highly effective products,” said Ken Suslow, founder and managing partner of Sandbridge Capital. “The brand stands apart from the crowd in an importantly differentiated way at the intersection where doing well converges with doing good, as reliably happens with the most impactful modern brands.”
Everist’s core consumer is a 40-plus woman, though Stevenson and Jenkins think they can cast a much wider demographic net.
“It’s anyone with either dry scalp or hair with texture changes that’s looking for a solution,” Jenkins said. “Often, what happens is that once the product is in households, there’s a spillover of use to the rest of the family. We wanted to be open to learn and iterate when it was in market to follow the consumer.”
From a product development perspective, “we really are focused on building out this hair and scalp wellness routine,” Stevenson said. “We have a couple products in the near pipeline that are focused on scalp, as well as a finishing step. Beyond that, we’re looking at different gaps in customers’ routines. It’s always going to be around just the good stuff, power-packed natural formulas that deliver results.”
Blakes, Cassels & Graydon LLP served as legal counsel to Everist on the deal.
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