Native Deodorant, a San Francisco-based natural deodorant brand, just sold to Procter & Gamble for $100 million cash.
Native, which positioned itself as an online distributor of deodorant, had received just $500,000 from Azure Capital Partners. With more than a million customers since launching 2.5 years ago, Native was able to use profits from the business to reinvest in growth.
P&G already owns popular deodorant brand Secret, but must have felt that Native could be a leader amongst consumers who are conscious of ingredients. (There are some concerns that traditional deodorants may cause cancer.)
Native’s deodorants come in scents like pumpkin spice latte or honeycrisp apple and cinnamon. They are more expensive than your average deodorant at $12 per stick.
The Native deal is reminiscent of Dollar Shave Club, another venture-backed grooming products company that sold to Unilever last year.
Venture capitalists are increasingly making bets on direct-to-consumer products, which are brands with an online distribution platform. Allbirds shoes, Glossier makeup and Outdoor Voices activewear are all examples of this.
Recently, there have been quite a few acquisitions in the beauty space.
