Sunday Business: Funding the Future

If the latest round of transactions highlights one defining reality for beauty and personal care in 2026, it is that capital is still moving—fast—but with sharper intent. Investors are backing infrastructure over hype, brand platforms over single-product stories, and scalable commercial engines over traditional marketing playbooks. Across M&A, private equity, strategic stakes and restructuring moves, the industry is signalling that the next growth cycle will be built on ownership, distribution power and disciplined expansion.

At the brand and IP level, consolidation remains a key theme. Reliance Consumer’s acquisition of global rights to Brylcreem, Toni & Guy, Badedas and Matey reflects an increasingly aggressive strategy from Indian conglomerates to secure heritage brands with strong recognition and long-term cross-category potential. This type of deal is less about reinvention overnight and more about building global brand portfolios that can be refreshed, relocalised and re-accelerated through modern retail execution and emerging-market scale.

Luxury fragrance, meanwhile, continues to attract strategic capital. L Catterton’s move to acquire a minority stake in fragrance house EX NIHILO reinforces the sector’s enduring appetite for prestige scent brands with strong margin profiles and global expansion headroom. Fragrance remains one of the most resilient categories in beauty, particularly as consumers continue to seek emotional purchases and “treat” behaviour—even when broader discretionary demand softens.

Strategic partnerships in Asia are also strengthening the investment pipeline. Mao Geping Cosmetics signing a strategic cooperation agreement with L Catterton Asia signals how Chinese beauty groups are increasingly turning to global investment partners not only for capital, but for operational expertise, brand-building support and international expansion frameworks. These agreements reflect a maturing Chinese market where scale must now be paired with sophistication—especially as competition intensifies and consumers become more selective.

At the corporate level, large players are reinforcing long-term positioning through targeted investment and financial clarity. L’Oréal’s plan to invest US$383 million in a Hyderabad beauty tech hub underscores how beauty’s largest groups are continuing to fund R&D, manufacturing capability and next-generation innovation ecosystems. Rather than chasing short-term wins, the strategy points to capacity building—using technology infrastructure to support both product performance and speed-to-market at global scale. In parallel, Nestlé reiterating its L’Oréal stake as a purely financial investment reinforces the continuing importance of clear shareholder narratives, particularly in a market where investors increasingly demand focus, transparency and capital discipline.

Beyond beauty-specific deals, the marketing and data infrastructure powering brand growth is also drawing meaningful funding. Statusphere raising US$18 million to scale micro-influencer marketing reflects how creator-led discovery is becoming a formalised, investable category—moving from experimental seeding into measurable performance marketing. Similarly, Blackstone backing Applecart in a US$100 million round valuing the firm at US$700 million shows that data-driven customer intelligence platforms are becoming strategic assets in their own right. For beauty brands, the implication is clear: competitive advantage may increasingly sit in targeting, community-building and predictive insight—not just product innovation.

Retail and distribution platforms remain another focal point for investors, particularly where scale and cash generation intersect. CK Hutchison targeting a US$30 billion valuation for an A.S. Watson dual IPO highlights the continued market value of global retail infrastructure, especially for groups that can monetise loyalty ecosystems, omnichannel reach and multi-market operating leverage. Even as consumer spending patterns fragment, distribution power remains one of the most defensible positions in the industry’s value chain.

Not all capital movement, however, is about expansion. Some of it is about restructuring, stabilisation and future-proofing. Saks Global securing a US$500 million first tranche of restructuring financing illustrates how retailers are still navigating balance-sheet pressure, shifting demand and evolving competitive threats. In the beauty context, these moves matter because department store health directly impacts prestige brand performance, promotional dependency and long-term channel strategy.

Finally, portfolio simplification continues to reshape the post-deal landscape. Coty selling its remaining Wella stake to KKR marks another step in unwinding legacy structures and clarifying ownership. For beauty groups, these exits are often less about retreat and more about focus—freeing capital, reducing complexity and redirecting resources into categories and channels with the strongest long-term returns.

Taken together, these headlines point to an industry where capital is not disappearing—it is concentrating. The winners are increasingly those with either strong brand equity, scalable operational platforms, or the infrastructure to control distribution and data. In 2026, beauty’s deal flow is becoming less about momentum and more about architecture: building portfolios, funding innovation engines and backing the systems that turn consumer attention into durable growth.