Private equity firm Vaultier7 invests in haircare brand Gisou by Negin Mirsalehi

By

Sarah Ahssen

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Feb 12, 2020

London-based private equity firm Vaultier7 specialises in investing in start-ups operating in the cosmetics, wellness and lifestyle sectors. After acquiring a stake in modest fashion e-tailer The Modist in June 2018, Vaultier7 has now turned its attention to haircare brand Gisou by Negin Mirsalehi.

“Gisou by Negin Mirsalehi has benefited from an investment of several million euros by specialist beauty and lifestyle investment fund Vaultier7. This partnership will enable us to boost our growth and continue to focus on sustainable initiatives, on enlarging our community, introducing new cosmetics categories and broadening our commercial presence,” stated Gisou by Negin Mirsalehi on its LinkedIn account.

Gisou by Negin Mirsalehi was launched in 2015 by Iranian-born Dutch influencer Negin Mirsalehi and her partner Maurits Stibbe. The range includes a dozen hair treatment products that utilize honey as the main active ingredient. The choice of formulation is not random, since Mirsalehi's mother is a hairstylist and her father is a bee-keeper, the family business for six generations.

Similarly to make-up brand Huda Beauty, who tapped the popularity of its founder Huda Kattan, Gisou greatly benefited from Mirsalehi's online clout. With over 5.7 million Instagram followers, Mirsalehi is a social media star. In 2018, Mirsalehi, now 31, was listed among the 30 most influential European personalities under-30 in the arts and culture sector by Forbes. Three years ago, the US magazine estimated Gisou's annual revenue at $3 million. According to some analysts, the figure is now in excess of $10 million (€9 million).  

Gisou is sold primarily via its e-tail site, but it is also available at a handful of high-profile selective perfumery retailers, like the Champs-Elysées branch of the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris. Now that Vaultier7 has acquired a stake in Gisou, the latter’s retail footprint is expected to broaden.
 
Private equity firm Vaultier7, founded in 2017 and with the Puig family among its investors, is led by Montse Suárez and Anna Sweeting. Besides investing €12.85 million in Dubai-based modest fashion e-tailer The Modist in June 2018, Vaultier7 acquired a stake worth €6.43 million in sneakers brand Axel Arigato in January 2018, and invested in US baby food brand Baby Spoon in November the same year.