About K18 Hair
K18 Hair is a biotech-driven haircare brand, founded in 2020 by Suveen Sahib and Britta Cox, built around its patented K18Peptide ingredient, developed by mapping the keratin genome, which is designed to repair chemically and heat-damaged hair in minutes. The brand's line includes products such as the Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask and Molecular Hair Repair Oil, sold through professional salons, retailers including Sephora, and its own e-commerce channel across North America, the UK, and Australia. K18 built its reputation partly through social-media education on hair science, and Unilever agreed in December 2023 to acquire the brand for its Prestige portfolio.
Founded
2019
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$742M (acquired Dec 2023)
Sectors
K18 Hair Acquisition
K18 Hair was acquired by Unilever for $742M on 22 December 2023.
Before the acquisition K18 Hair had raised $25M across 1 funding round.
K18 Hair is a premium biotech haircare brand founded in 2020 by Suveen Sahib and Britta Cox, specializing in products that address hair damage using its proprietary K18Peptide ingredient, which mimics human keratin to reverse chemical damage in minutes. The brand offers six products, including the hero Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask and Molecular Hair Repair Oil, distributed through professional salons, retailers like Sephora (over 500 stores since 2021), and eCommerce primarily in North America, UK, and Australia. It pioneered social media education on hair science, achieving projected 2023 retail sales of $300 million (rising to over $410 million in 2024) and $120.9 million in earned media value from January to November 2023, with 117% year-over-year growth. Unilever, a global consumer goods giant, signed an agreement on December 22, 2023, to acquire K18 for an undisclosed amount, with the transaction expected to close in Q1 2024; K18 will join Unilever Prestige portfolio alongside brands like Living Proof (acquired 2016), Tatcha, Murad, and Dermalogica. Unilever Prestige CEO Vasiliki Petrou highlighted the addition complements its fast-growing premium, culturally-relevant brands in high-growth spaces, emphasizing K18's science, efficacy, and community love. K18 CEO Suveen Sahib noted alignment with Unilever's support for its biology-first, sustainable biotech approach reducing product use, time, and frustration. The deal optimizes Unilever's portfolio toward higher-growth premium areas amid divestitures, including the sale of Elida Beauty (brands like Q-Tips, Tigi, Timotei) to Yellow Wood Partners and a majority stake in Dollar Shave Club. Legal counsel Sidley represented K18. K18 ranked on BeautyMatter's 2023 FUTURE50 list with projected full-year revenue of $100-$125 million, positioning it as a strategic fit in competitive premium haircare amid biotech innovation trends.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 2023 | Strategic M&A | $742M |
Sources: sec.gov
K18 Hair Funding History
K18 Hair has raised a total of $25M across 1 funding round.
K18 Hair funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | Undisclosed stage | VMG Partners (lead) | $25M | K18 Hair is a biotech-driven haircare brand founded by Suveen Sahib and Britta Cox, leveraging a patented K18Peptide technology derived from mapping the keratin genome to repair damaged hair, including bleached, colored, and chemically treated strands, using fewer and cleaner ingredients. Launched in late 2020 across over 25,000 salons and entering Sephora in December 2021, the brand focuses on professional and prestige channels with global adoption in 100 countries. Founders previously created Aquis hair towel under the same parent company. On January 25, 2022, K18 secured a $25 million minority investment from VMG Partners to support projected growth of 50%-100% in 2022. This followed an earlier Series B participation by True Beauty Ventures in August (prior year) and built on Aquis's prior $5 million Series B in 2019 led by Springboard Growth Capital, bringing K18's total funding to $45 million by later reports. VMG praised K18's patient, prudent, and innovative approach to transforming haircare. In 2021, K18 generated $75 million in retail sales, with projections for $112-150 million in 2022, and later claims of over $150 million annual retail value that year. The brand achieved strong traction including #4 ranking on EMV scale, top 10 Sephora haircare product within 12 months, and over 11 billion TikTok views as the first prestige haircare brand to bet big on the platform. It emphasized profitability from day one and science-backed education via AR, digital content, and KOLs. Post-round developments included Unilever's agreement in December 2023, with 2023 expected revenue of $100-125 million. |
Who has invested in K18 Hair?
1 investor has backed K18 Hair across its funding rounds, including VMG Partners.
Lead investors include VMG Partners.
K18 Hair Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 1 K18 Hair investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialK18 Hair Competitors
K18 Hair competitors include listed companies like Tempo Scan Pacific, Synsam and Safilo Group, and private ones like BENOW, JSW Paints and ipsy.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | $235M | - | $737M | 3.1x | ||
| Publicly listed | $790M | $111M | $712M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $734M | $130M | $775M | 1.4x | ||
| Private | - | - | $702M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.1B | $126M | $794M | 0.7x | ||
| Private | $150M | - | $800M | 5.3x |
K18 Hair Public Comps
K18 Hair is no longer listed, but its public comps include Tempo Scan Pacific, Synsam, Safilo Group, Sunmax Biotechnology, Helen Of Troy, Menicon, Alkaloid, ODDITY Tech, Betterware de Mexico and Sarantis Group.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $790M | $111M | 0.6x | - | 4.5x | - | |||
| $734M | $130M | 1.5x | 1.4x | 8.3x | 5.8x | |||
| $1.1B | $126M | 0.7x | 0.7x | 6.3x | 6.0x | |||
| $64M | $35M | 10.2x | - | 18.6x | - | |||
| $1.8B | ($728M) | 0.8x | 0.8x | (1.9x) | 7.3x | |||
| $807M | $131M | 1.4x | 1.4x | 8.8x | 8.3x | |||
| $391M | $62M | 1.7x | - | 10.7x | - | |||
| $810M | $131M | 1.5x | 1.8x | 9.6x | 18.3x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all K18 Hair competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about K18 Hair
| When was K18 Hair founded? | K18 Hair was founded in 2019. |
| Where is K18 Hair headquartered? | K18 Hair is headquartered in United States. |
| Is K18 Hair publicly listed? | No, K18 Hair was acquired by Unilever in December 2023. |
| Who acquired K18 Hair? | K18 Hair was acquired by Unilever in December 2023. |
| How much was K18 Hair acquired for? | K18 Hair was acquired for $742M in December 2023. |
| How much funding has K18 Hair raised? | K18 Hair has raised $25M across 1 funding round. |
| What was K18 Hair's last funding round? | K18 Hair's last funding round was a $25M undisclosed-stage round in January 2022, led by VMG Partners. |
| Who are K18 Hair's investors? | K18 Hair's investors include VMG Partners. |
| Which companies are comparable to K18 Hair? | Companies comparable to K18 Hair include BENOW, Tempo Scan Pacific, Synsam, JSW Paints, Safilo Group and ipsy. |
See companies similar to K18 Hair
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