Unilever Sells Intuiskin to Ieva Group

Unilever has sold several beauty brands to Ieva Group­. Ieva bills itself as a “connected beauty company” linking wellbeing, personalized solutions and the environment. Specifically, Ieva acquired Intuiskin, the parent company of skin care and hair care brands Ioma, Ioma Hair and Made with Care. A purchase price was not disclosed.

Following the deal, Unilever will return to being a minority shareholder in Intuiskin. Ieva Group was founded by Jean Michel Karam in 2020. It has personalized brands, services and experiences, powered by technology and data. He established Intuiskin in 2010. Ieva's portfolio now comprises Ioma, in personalized cosmetics, and clean skin care brand Made with Care, formerly under Intuiskin, as well as beauty brands L’Atelier du Sourcil, the brow bar retail concept, plus technical hair care brand Elenature.

“This acquisition, backed by this fundraising, is a major step in the development of Ieva Group,” Karam said in a statement.

The deal comes 11 years after Unilever acquired a minority stake in Intuiskin and eight years after Unilever purchased the company.

In a statement, Ieva said it has completed a new funding round of 9 million euros (about $9.5 million) led by Crédit Mutuel Innovation, with the participation of Seb Alliance, and has purchased Intuiskin.

This isn't Ieva's first acquisition. In July 2021, it acquired Boudoir du Regard, France’s second-largest retailer focused on eyebrows. In 2020, the group purchased Atelier du Sourcil, a French retailer.

The goal at Ieva is to disrupt the personalized beauty model while remaining in sync with Karam’s quest to enhance human life. A microelectronics expert, Karam sent shockwaves through the industry when he introduced IOMA, a skin care brand using its own high-tech analysis in-store for the creation of customized products and recommended regimens, in late 2010.

Once the brand was sold to Unilever, Karam remained Ioma’s chief executive officer as well as the CEO of Memscap, a company Karam launched earlier based on developing Mems technology for the avionics, optical communications and medical fields.

Ieva has connected jewelry, introduced in January 2019 and commercially deployed in May and June 2020, that measures environmental stressors and physical activity. That is linked to a mobile app offering preventative and personalized beauty recommendations based on environmental information and diagnostic results. App users get made-to-measure tips and Ieva also has a monthly subscription service, among other features.

Ieva Group has closed numerous funding rounds since its inception, and developed and launched skin care and hair care brands.