Executive Summary

Unilever has signed an agreement to acquire the prestige skincare brand Tatcha. Unilever reportedly paid almost $500 million for the brand. 

• Tatcha was founded in 2009 by Victoria Tsai in San Francisco with an innovation center in Japan known as the Tatcha Institute. The brand is reportedly on track to bring in $100 million in net sales in 2019.
• The brand has become a cult favorite by introducing Japanese skincare to the world. Its products have become popular at retailers such as Sephora. 
• At a reported $500 million, the deal marks the biggest acquisition by Unilever since it acquired Dollar Shave Club for $1 billion in 2016. The acquisition will support Unilever’s expansion of its prestige beauty segment.
• The Tatcha acquisition represents a meaningful strengthening of Unilever’s offering in prestige, natural beauty, further nudging the balance of the company’s beauty and personal care offering away from midmarket toiletries.