True Beauty Ventures Invests in High-Tech Hair Care Brands AQUIS and K18Peptide to Support Accelerated Growth

NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- True Beauty Ventures ("TBV"), an emerging growth fund focused exclusively on beauty, wellness, and personal care, today announced its investment in AQUIS, a fast-growing, innovative hair care company with clean, clinically proven products committed to restoring and protecting hair health. It is the first investment by TBV, which was formed earlier this year by True Beauty Capital.

Built on a technology-based approach to limiting the damaging effects of water, AQUIS is known for creating the first moisture-wicking towels and turbans that help hair dry 50% faster. Co-founders Britta Cox and Suveen Sahib studied the biology of hair extensively and uncovered that excess water is the principal cause of hair damage, especially for chemically compromised hair.

Over time, AQUIS has evolved its offerings to cover three top pillars of healthy hair care: drying, washing, and chemical damage. The AQUIS Prime hair care system, which includes a prewash, hair and scalp wash, and leave-in serum, help maintain the natural integrity of the hair before, during, after washing, and all day.

To further advance their mission to permanently undo hair damage, scientists at AQUIS mapped the keratin genome to launch K18Peptide, a treatment that repairs and restores bleached, colored, and chemically treated hair with fewer, cleaner ingredients. K18Peptide uses a patented biomimetic keratin peptide technology that strengthens hair from within, while not weighing it down or washing out. It is clinically proven to achieve healthier hair in 4 minutes.

Capital from this investment will support AQUIS' continued growth, the rollout of K18Peptide, marketing, new product innovations, and key hires.

True Beauty Ventures participated in an existing Series B round, which was led by Springboard Growth Capital ("SGC"), an investment partnership focused on providing visionary women founders with capital to build market-leading consumer brands, and existing investors.

"We could not be more thrilled to make AQUIS the inaugural initial investment for True Beauty Ventures," commented Rich Gersten, Co-Founder & Partner of TBV.  "The growth momentum of the core hair accessories business and the strong potential for the K18Peptide brand position AQUIS favorably for long-term success."

Suveen Sahib, Co-Founder & CEO of AQUIS, expressed his excitement about partnering with TBV and the brand's growth prospects, stating, "We are committed to creating cutting-edge technologies that allow you to be the most authentic, bold version of yourself without sacrificing the integrity of your hair. This is why True Beauty is such an exciting partner for us. Rich and Cristina are pioneers in beauty investing, with an amazing track record of building winning playbooks together with a deep understanding of hair care and omni-channel relationships."

"We are so excited to grow and deepen our leadership bench with True Beauty Ventures," said Britta Cox, Co-Founder of AQUIS. "We are all about rethinking hair habits and questioning what we've always done."

"Hair is one of the fastest-growing categories within prestige beauty, even in the post COVID-19 environment," added Cristina Nuñez, Co-Founder & Partner of TBV. "AQUIS is poised to be a leader in the holistic hair health movement with their dedicated commitment to high-tech innovation, better and fewer ingredients, and proven results."

"As AQUIS readies for its next phase of rapid growth with the launch of the breakthrough K18Peptide line, having the unparalleled expertise of True Beauty Ventures joining at this critical juncture couldn't be more perfect," remarked Lori Wachs, Partner of SGC.

ABOUT TRUE BEAUTY VENTURES
True Beauty Ventures is an emerging growth fund founded on the premise that in beauty, experience and expertise matter. TBV provides dedicated focus to finding, partnering with, and scaling emerging brands exclusively in the beauty, wellness, and personal care industries. The team will invest up to $5 million in brands with at least $2 million in revenue. True Beauty Ventures is the emerging growth fund of True Beauty Capital ("TBC"), a beauty-focused strategic investment platform that leverages decades of deep institutional investing and industry experience to help brands at all stages quickly realize their true potential. In an exclusive partnership with North Castle Partners, a leading consumer private equity firm, TBC will pursue investment opportunities that require at least $10 million of capital in the beauty and personal care sectors. For more information, visit www.truebeautycap.com.

ABOUT AQUIS
AQUIS is committed to helping restore hair from the inside out with a clean and innovative approach to hair care. Using bioengineering applications for hair, AQUIS creates strong hair from within, unlike the legacy cosmetic chemistry platforms. For more information, visit www.aquis.com and www.k18hair.com.

ABOUT SPRINGBOARD GROWTH CAPITAL
SGC invests in high-growth companies founded by dynamic female entrepreneurs. With a focus on helping visionary entrepreneurs create market leaders, SGC employs a scalable independent sponsor model that is unique among women-focused funds in its capacity and flexibility to make growth equity investments of meaningful size.  The firm's current portfolio includes investments in AQUIS, The RealReal, ClassPass, Hint, and Fleur du Mal. For more information, visit www.springboardgc.com

Contact:

Rich Gersten
True Beauty Capital
[email protected]

SOURCE True Beauty Ventures