Minimalist Beauty Brand Merit Announces $20 Million Funding Round

Merit, the minimalist beauty brand led by CEO Katherine Power in 2020, has announced a $20 million Series A funding round led by the Growth Fund of L Catterton. Marcy Venture Partners and Sonoma Brands also participated in the round. 
 
L Catterton Vice President Courtney Nelson is joining Merit's board of directors.
 
Merit is Power's fourth digitally native, data-informed brand serving millennial consumers. She previously founded media property Who What Wear, skincare brand Versed, and co-founded wine label Avaline alongside actor Cameron Diaz. 
 
The brand, which launched with a “five-minute morning” color cosmetics assortment, has experienced exponential growth, driving an innovative direct-to-consumer strategy alongside aggressive retail expansion, including into Sephora US, Sephora Canada and Sephora at Kohl's.
 
With this funding round, Merit will continue to grow its collection and expand into new categories. 
 
“Our customer is a discerning individual who is selective about the brands and products they welcome into their life. At Merit, we aim to serve our consumer in many aspects of their beauty and self-care routines,” said Founder and CEO Katherine Power. “Our team is looking forward to collaborating with L Catterton and our other partners as we leverage their collective expertise scaling consumer brands to support the development of new products within and beyond clean color.”
 
This is Power's fourth digitally native and data-informed brand serving millennial consumers. She previously founded media property Who What Wear, skincare brand Versed, and co-founded the natural wine label Avaline alongside Cameron Diaz. 
 
L Catterton’s current and past investments include Tula, IL Makiage, Function of Beauty, The Honest Company, Intercos, Marubi, Elemis and others.