BFG PARTNERS ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF CURLSMITH BY HELEN OF TROY

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May 05, 2022, 08:00 ET

BOULDER, Colo., May 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BFG Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage consumer products, completed the sale of Recipe Products, Ltd (d.b.a. CURLSMITH) to Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE). CURLSMITH is a leading provider of clean haircare products servicing customers with all types of textured hair. CURLSMITH is led by founders, Michal Berski and Kate Evans, who built the brand on top of their combined experience in large scale CPG and servicing individual salon clients. Today, CURLSMITH has five lines of haircare products, catering to all those with textured hair from loose waves to tight curls. Most recently, they have expanded their haircare offering to include tools that reduce hair damage and enhance natural texture.

Throughout its five-year growth, BFG Partners and Unilever Ventures were the exclusive institutional capital partners to CURLSMITH. "We were fortunate enough to partner with Michal, Kate and the CURLSMITH team 18 months ago at a real inflection point in the brand's growth. We saw their creativity and respect for their customer base fuel thoughtful and speedy expansion across the globe, with notable success in Ulta and in their DTC business," said Ben Fenton, Partner at BFG Partners. Elizabeth Earle, Vice President at BFG Partners, echoed a similar sentiment: "At BFG, we felt particularly aligned with CURLSMITH's entrepreneurial spirit. Their ability to create such an efficacious, community-driven and high-growth brand with a lean and scrappy team is exactly the kind of business we look for and hope to support."

On the brand's relationship to its board and investors, CURLSMITH founder, Michal Berski, said: "From concept to $150M dollar brand in just five years – building CURLSMITH has been quite a ride, and I couldn't be prouder of what we've achieved. Now it's time to find the right home for our brand, and Helen of Troy are perfectly placed to do that. But we couldn't have gotten here without world class investors. My sincere thanks to BFG Partners for their belief in the brand and strong partnership since 2020."

Financo Raymond James acted as exclusive financial advisor to Curlsmith.

About BFG Partners
BFG Partners is a venture capital firm that seeks partnerships with early-stage consumer product companies whose products do better for people and the planet. BFG aims to work alongside exceptional entrepreneurs to foster sustainable growth and outperformance. Investments range across consumer including categories such as food, beverage, personal care, and beauty. . In addition to providing portfolio companies with capital, BFG provides teams with the advice most needed to make critical decisions and maximize opportunities. This advice spans operational strategy, tactical marketing, channel development, organizational design and capital planning. BFG Partners is based in Boulder, CO. www.bfgpartners.com/

About CURLSMITH
Founded in 2017 and backed by BFG Partners, CURLSMITH is a leading textured haircare brand. The company embodies the belief that curls don't have to be complicated and aim to take the guesswork out of clean haircare and embrace true hair texture. With Curl Confidence as their north star, the team's science-driven formulas draw on legacy recipes and recognizable ingredients to include all the things curls love and none of the stuff they hate. With five unique and complimentary haircare lines, CURLSMITH embraces all types of textured hair. Curlsmith is also on a journey to becoming a better business, with focus on Curlsmith employees and partners, giving back to local communities and reducing impact on the environment. www.curlsmith.com

For further inquiries, please reach out to Meg Legro ([email protected])

SOURCE BFG Partners