e.l.f. Beauty has acquired cruelty-free, clean beauty company W3ll People for $27 million in cash. e.l.f. plans to leverage its marketing, customer relationships and operational capabilities to drive the W3ll People brand.
 
“We are pleased to bring clean beauty pioneer W3ll People under the e.l.f. Beauty umbrella as our first strategic extension. Clean beauty is a strategically important segment given consumer sentiment and strong growth rates. W3ll People has a long history of expertise and credibility in clean beauty that works. Their brand values and market opportunity align closely with e.l.f. and we believe there are a number of synergies to be realized on both the cost and distribution fronts,” said Tarang Amin, e.l.f. Beauty chairman and CEO.
 
W3ll People was launched in 2008 by James Walker, Shirley Pinkson and Dr. Renee Snyder. The company is cruelty-free, and its plant-based product-line—which contains no fillers, propylene glycol, petrochemicals or petroleum byproducts—includes 40 EWG Verified products. W3ll People has an emerging presence at national retailers including Target and Whole Foods; through natural specialty retailers such as Credo Beauty and The Detox Market; and online through Amazon.com, Ulta.com and W3llPEOPLE.com.
 
“W3ll People has a remarkable history of breaking beauty boundaries, and the acquisition by e.l.f. is an incredible milestone in our effort to make clean beauty accessible,” said Walker. “We feel tremendously grateful for our brand’s success and the extraordinary team that helped build it.”
 
e.l.f. expects W3ll People to contribute approximately $7 million in net sales and $0.01 to its adjusted earnings per share on a fully diluted basis in fiscal 2021.