Hero Cosmetics Receives Growth Investment And Announces Product Expansion And New Distribution Partners

Best known for its Mighty Patch line, Hero Cosmetics cements itself as an emerging leader in functional skincare

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Jan 11, 2021, 12:01 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hero Cosmetics, Inc., an award-winning leader in next-generation functional skincare, announced today that it received a significant minority growth investment from Aria Growth Partners, a leading consumer-focused private equity firm. The investment will enable Hero to fuel continued growth, product innovation and expanded distribution of its innovative, highly effective and accessibly priced skincare products.

Co-founded in 2017 by Ju Rhyu, Dwight Lee and Andrew Lee, Hero Cosmetics has disrupted the skin- and acne care categories with innovative products like the cult-favorite, award-winning Mighty Patch acne patch. Consumer adoption has been swift driving revenue growth by over 300% in 2020 alone. A Hero product is currently sold every 15 seconds in the U.S. and the brand expects over $80 Million of retail revenue in 2021. Adding to Hero's achievements, the business has grown into a market leader without raising a single dollar of outside capital until now.

"Ju, Dwight and Andy are tremendous entrepreneurs, and it shows in the quality of the brand and business they've created and the extraordinary growth they've achieved. We are thrilled to be their partners," said Trevor Nelson, a partner at Aria Growth Partners. "We are excited to help Hero continue to solve long-standing skin concerns with innovative and disruptive products such as Mighty Patch and Rescue Balm," added Jackie Dunklau, a principal at Aria.

"Fortunately, we have been profitable since year-1 and were in a position to choose a partner for their strategic value-add to help take the company to the next level. That's exactly what we found with Aria Growth Partners, and we are thrilled to work with Trevor and Jackie to turn Hero into the #1 functional skincare brand," says Ju Rhyu, Co-Founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics.

In addition to DTC and Amazon, Hero has built a strong partnership with Target where it has rapidly expanded its assortment and shelf presence. Later this month, Hero will launch Clear Collective, a one-of-a-kind 3-step blemish prevention system targeting the root causes of acne and blemishes. The line will be available exclusively at Target and on the brand's own website. "Part of our mission at Hero is to help people reclaim their skin confidence by bringing game-changing, effective, innovation to acne care at accessible price points," stated Rhyu.

Hero products including its Mighty Patch line can now be found nationwide at Target, Ulta, CVS, Amazon, Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters and at herocosmetics.us.

Michael Toure of Toure Capital advised Hero on the transaction.

About Hero Cosmetics: Hero Cosmetics is a functional skincare brand focused on acne breakouts. Since launching in 2017, the brand sells a box of Mighty Patch acne patches every 15 seconds in over 8,000 doors and has grown from a startup with a single product to an established acne-care brand with customizable toolkits that span your skin's entire healing journey, from start to finish. Hero takes a consciously clinical approach to skincare, developing products with gentle ingredients, transparent product details, and clinically high standards for efficacy. Hero offers consumers customizable solutions to prevent blemishes and to restore skin to good health. Hero helps people clear their skin and reclaim their confidence. www.herocosmetics.us

About Aria Growth Partners: Based in New York City, Aria Growth Partners is a leading consumer growth equity firm that provides capital and elevated partnership to extraordinary consumer brands. Aria typically invests between $5 - $25 million for minority stakes in growth-stage consumer brands. For the last decade, Aria principals have been growth partners to many of the most successful emerging brands across beauty, personal care, food, beverage, household, baby and pet products. www.ariagrowth.com.

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SOURCE Hero Cosmetics