Cashmere Nicole created Beauty Bakerie over a decade ago with a desire to bring a “sweeter” view of the beauty industry through delightful, delicious-looking products. However, recently, the company took to Instagram to announce some surprising news about its new direction.
The independent brand will now be acquired by West Land Capital Partners.
It was no secret that Cashmere closed the company in April of this year so she could focus on her personal life. More specifically, her religious relationships as she publicly questioned, “How does what I do please God?”
Now, her latest post showed a slight privet in her business plans, stating, ”After working tirelessly over the past 9 years, I was ready for work to catch up to where I was in spirit: at peace. The past few months of stillness away have been exactly what I needed.” Besides renewed peace of mind, it seems like the time away also granted Cashmere the clarity to allow the private investment firm to take over Beauty Bakerie.
The news came as a relief to some, who she said requested she “sell the brand and let it live on.” Others made it very clear they weren’t as supportive of the decision.
One Instagram commenter said, “I'm glad it will live one, but not being an Indie brand anymore might make me lose the desire to buy it ngl.”
So why the disdain for Beauty Bakerie going from independent to private? Well, one reason is that many women of color, Black women in particular, took a lot of pride in knowing there was a successful beauty company owned and run by a fellow Black woman for them. Bakerie was noted by platforms like CNN and Glamour as a Black-owned brand everyone needed to know.
It’s hard to ignore the ongoing upheaval of social media users calling out Black-targeted brands being “whitewashed” post-sale. Mielle faced this exact outrage when their Rosemary Mint Hair Growth Oil went from being a WOC’s best-gatekept secret to impossible to find after falling into the hands of Alix Earle’s TikTok channel.
Another reason could be fear that the product's current high quality won’t be retained. Though WLCP Managing Partner Nick Sternberg claims Beauty Bakerie’s cruelty-free, vegan-friendly approach contributed “significant synergies” between BB and the other brands under the firm, there’s no true guarantee the formulas will stay the same. A notable example of this is Shea Moisture’s sale to Unilever. After the 2017 acquisition, a noticeable number of Shea Moisture loyalists came forward to claims of significant differences in the formula and even marketing.
Cashmere Nicole first cooked up Beauty Bakerie in 2011 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The mother and CEO used her faith to fight through as her passion for makeup artistry grew. A combination of the two birthed the phenom brand we know today. Beauty Independent reported:
“In 2019, Beauty Bakerie was on track to hit $12 million to $15 million in sales, according to an article in the outlet CEW Daily. The article details it employed 30 people and had spread to over 120 countries. By its closure, it reached 2,000-plus retail doors. The financial information resource Crunchbase estimates Beauty Bakerie raised $14.7 million in total funding.”
Beauty Bakerie products remain available to shop at major retailers like Target, CVS, Amazon, and Nordstrom.
Great read! Any decision she makes that brings her peace is so important in business. (Mental Health) Running a makeup brand post-COVID, when everything is fast-paced, is tough! The brand has been successful and competing with major brands will require her to be constantly innovative and expand her marketing budget. The brand's essence might be lost too but I think this is a business model I have noticed in the American market ( grow the business and then sell ) as against Asian brands who are more into the long term.
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