August 22, 2019

Henkel Beauty Care expands expertise in new digital go-to-market business models

Henkel invests in the start-ups youtiful and Purish

Düsseldorf – Henkel further strengthens its expertise in digital go-to-market models by investing in the two Beauty Care start-ups youtiful and Purish. The investments under the umbrella of Henkel Ventures are a perfect fit in line with the company’s strategic priority to accelerate digitalization and will help Henkel gain valuable insights into key beauty trends and new digital business models. 

“We are excited about the two venture investments in Purish and youtiful. Both start-ups have proven their unique capabilities and expertise in innovative digital go-to-market business models,” said Gesa Geissel, Head of Corporate Venturing at Henkel Beauty Care. “Digital direct-to-consumer relationships are becoming increasingly important as they allow connecting with consumers to improve consumer experience and capture trends early. We look forward to collaborating with both Purish and youtiful and to help them grow their businesses.”

Purish, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, is a start-up that offers a state-of-the-art e-commerce platform for beauty products and especially addresses generation Y and Z consumers. “We are delighted to win Henkel as a strategic partner for our journey. The partnership is a great opportunity to connect the vast knowledge of a leading global player with the agility of a digital start-up. We look forward to work with the outstanding team of consumer goods and retail experts at Henkel to strengthen our positioning in the market and to accelerate our growth internationally,” explained Philipp Mehler, CEO, and Founder of Purish.      

Youtiful, based in Frankfurt, Germany, offers a community-driven social selling platform. The idea behind: On the youtiful platform, the community decides through online voting which products will be added to the portfolio, recommended and distributed. “Henkel Beauty Care and youtiful share the same values. Together we want to revolutionize the beauty industry for more consumer participation. We are thrilled to have Henkel as our partner and are looking forward to developing meaningful, consumer-co-created products,” said Gerald Heydenreich, CEO, and Founder of youtiful.

Besides the knowledge transfer, both start-ups will also have access to Henkel’s open innovation and collaboration platform, Henkel X. “With the Henkel X platform, we foster exchange between partners, including start-ups and industry peers, to drive a culture of innovation – here the two start-ups will add real value. We learn from their experiences with specific e-commerce and emerging network marketing models, and in turn Henkel provides guidance on scaling internationally and identifying the best partners in our network to support their growth trajectory,” said Marius Swart, Co-Founder of Henkel X.  

Henkel’s corporate venture capital engagement
Henkel Ventures is Henkel's corporate venture capital engagement with a total volume of up to 150 million euros. The dedicated team actively evaluates and manages equity investments and joint development projects with start-up companies. Building on existing successful collaborations between Henkel’s three business units and start-ups, Henkel Ventures focuses on a variety of digital and technological search fields. The investments into the two beauty care start-ups follow further direct and fund investments from Henkel. For more information please visit www.henkel-ventures.com.

About Henkel X
Henkel X is an open innovation platform and was designed not only to accelerate Henkel’s entrepreneurial transformation, but to provide an open innovation platform to act as a catalyst for industrial change and to drive innovation and disruptive business models for the whole industry. Henkel X is based on three pillars: ecosystem, experience, and experimentation. The special value lies in creating an ecosystem that integrates a unique, diverse network of mentors, industrial partners and start-ups sharing knowledge, views, and ideas. More information on Henkel X can be found here: www.henkel.com/company/henkelx

About Henkel
Henkel operates globally with a well-balanced and diversified portfolio. The company holds leading positions with its three business units in both industrial and consumer businesses thanks to strong brands, innovations and technologies. Henkel Adhesive Technologies is the global leader in the adhesives market – across all industry segments worldwide. In its Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care businesses, Henkel holds leading positions in many markets and categories around the world. Founded in 1876, Henkel looks back on more than 140 years of success. In 2018, Henkel reported sales of around 20 billion euros and adjusted operating profit of around 3.5 billion euros. Henkel employs around 53,000 people globally – a passionate and highly diverse team, united by a strong company culture, a common purpose to create sustainable value, and shared values. As a recognized leader in sustainability, Henkel holds top positions in many international indices and rankings. Henkel’s preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX. For more information, please visit www.henkel.com 

Photo material is available at www.henkel.com/press

Contact	Jennifer Ott	Linda Fischer
Phone	+49 211 797-27 56	+49 211 797-72 65
Email	jennifer.ott@henkel.com	linda.fischer@henkel.com                               	

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA