Hourglass Cosmetics‘ founder is ready for her second act.
After acquiring body care brand Nature of Things from JP Collett, Carisa Janes will relaunch it with bath, body and skin care.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, apart from that Collett, who launched the brand in 2019, is still a minority partner and part of the team.
“Historically, I’ve dabbled in investing in some small startup beauty brands. Nature of Things is really the first brand that I acquired, and it’s a brand that I admired,” she told WWD in an interview. “There were a lot of really beautiful elements to the brand. Bath, body, hair was always something I was very interested in as a product developer and a brand founder. And the idea of creating a natural, plant-based brand was something very interesting to me. When I discovered Nature of Things, and they were looking for an evolution to the brand and a new partner, it felt like the perfect opportunity to bring that idea to life.”
As to why she is entering the body care category through an acquisition, she explained: “I love the name Nature of Things. It sounds so simple, but it’s name is so important. I love the logo. I really like the founder and there was a lot of elements of the brand that I was aligned with and I thought we can reimagine this brand and take it to the next level.”
In terms of the products the reimagined Nature of Things will be launching with, Janes said: “We basically started over.”
The brand will relaunch with 14 stock keeping units, including Awakening Santal Body Wash, $48; Restorative Floral Body Lotion, $68; Charcoal & Cardamom Seed Oil Purifying Body Bar, $28; Purifying Lavender Leaf Hand Wash, $48, and Sea Moss & Plum Oil Volumizing Shampoo, $72.
Each product is formulated with natural origin, plant-based ingredients. They’re packaged in recycled materials, with a future refill launch.
“This was my opportunity to start out of the gate. Let’s focus on natural origin, plant-based products, and then also, fragrance free is an important element of this, which we will be rolling out over time. But we do have fragrance free body wash and lotion and fragrance free hair is coming,” Janes said.
Nature of Things will debut its first New York City pop-up from Oct. 2 to 5 at 31 Crosby Street in New York’s SoHo. This comes after Hourglass opened its global flagship store in SoHo.
“There is just something very special about being able to bring your brand to life within four walls,” Janes continued. “It’s the best experience. It’s a great exercise for any brand to really figure out what is your brand voice, what is the visual language of your brand? From a consumer experience, it’s the best way to communicate to your customer and to have a connection with your customer.”
Janes said Unilever, which acquired Hourglass in 2017, has been supportive of her working on another brand.
“They really understand that creative people need to feel free. Eight years post acquisition, they trust me, and they know how committed I am to Hourglass,” she said.
On balancing work on both brands, she said: “At Hourglass, we have a great team, and I’ve been with my team for a long time. So it’s a muscle that I’ve developed, and I have very focused time with my Hourglass team. I just divide up the week like always. That’s the way I approach it. I have focused days for Hourglass, and then I have other days for outside projects. And, of course, I’m always available for Hourglass whenever something pops up.”
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