SAN FRANCISCO - September 16, 2020 - (Newswire.com)
MIRA BEAUTY, the world’s first universal store and collaborative library for makeup and skincare, announces a $9 million fundraise and new achievements.
Founded by Stanford data scientists Jay Hack and Brandon Garcia, the company has gathered a group of investors spanning cosmetics conglomerates, technology and consumer venture capital firms, as well as marquee brand founders. This round was co-led by Unilever Ventures and 14W, the venture capital firm behind Glossier and Goop, and underscores the combined power of machine learning and crowdsourced intelligence in retail.
Recognized as a disruptive innovation, MIRA BEAUTY reaches millions of beauty shoppers weekly; counts over 100,000 products from more than 3,000 brands; and translates over 10 million product pages, authentic reviews, photos and videos into one clear, simple, and personalized shopping experience. Launched last October, mirabeauty.com's collective, retailer-agnostic and transparent approach to online beauty shopping has made it a company to watch in the rapidly evolving global cosmetics and skincare industry — expected to grow to $429.8 billion by 2022.
With this latest round of seed funding, Jay Hack, co-founder and CEO, said the company is focused on taking a verticalized approach to beauty shopping in collaboration with its customers: "Our belief is that beauty should be a celebration of personal choice. We designed MIRA BEAUTY to improve the accuracy and relevance of beauty product searches and recommendations per individual. Beauty consumers increasingly want to interact with brands and purchase products online in a way that feels authentic, frictionless and collaborative, and today's specialty retailers, direct-to-consumer stores and marketplaces are ill-equipped to retrofit their businesses to this new reality. We are thrilled to partner with 14W, Unilever and other like-minded investors who have track records of backing market-leading innovations."
"MIRA BEAUTY is like Netflix: It rolls exactly what you want to see, and seamlessly," said Ally Tam, who led the partnership for 14W. "MIRA BEAUTY was quick to carve a niche for itself where all individuals can easily find the products that work for them, and we believe this new capital will help the company scale their services to meet the demands of a rapidly growing online audience."
"This round of funding is the result of impressive business fundamentals for MIRA BEAUTY, and it will help further the company’s mission to impart the knowledge and experiences of the beauty community," said Stephen Willson, Investment Director at Unilever Ventures, the venture capital and private equity arm of Unilever. "MIRA BEAUTY is well-positioned to deliver cutting-edge technology to beauty e-commerce, alongside more simplicity and transparency."
One destination
As part of the company's effort to boost its digital roadmap and streamline e-commerce operations, the beta app will entirely be phased out and merged into the redesigned website. MIRA BEAUTY has unified the two experiences together under a bolder and more contemporary visual identity.
"We know our guests love the app, and we are bringing what has made the app a success to the website, as well as a brand experience that celebrates self-confidence and diversity," said Brandon Garcia, co-founder and COO of MIRA BEAUTY. "With something as inspiring as beauty, we're making it easier than ever to shop for skincare and cosmetic products that work for you — shopping for beauty should be an empowering moment."
Inclusivity and consciousness
Powered by a proprietary technology that thoughtfully curates top-rated skincare and makeup products from the web, MIRA BEAUTY has developed unique categories and assortments that appeal to its audience tastes, needs, price points, and values. These include the industry's largest collection of female-founded and Black-founded brands, as well as the largest assortments of vegan, recyclable, and K-Beauty products.
The company plans to introduce new product categories and assortments by the end of the year to diversify the growing offering.
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Benjamin Lord
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Original Source: Personalized Beauty Marketplace Closes $9M in Funding to Accelerate Growth
