The Maker, a fragrance brand with a hotel origin and second-time founders, has gained an investment from True Beauty Ventures.
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After selling their beauty brand Fresh to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2000, Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg opened The Maker Hotel in Hudson, N.Y., in 2020 before expanding into fragrance in 2021 with a line of eaux de parfum and candles also called The Maker.
The brand launched at Sephora U.S. online last year and has expanded with its launch at Sephora Canada online and in stores in March. The brand is also sold at its Maker Hotel Shop in New York City along with other select retailers, including BlueMercury, Goop and Bergdorf Goodman. Scents include Lover Eau de Parfum, Naked Eau de Parfum and Paradiso Eau de Parfum.
“We launched it two years ago, and the reception has been incredible,” said Glazman in an interview. “People love the concept. People really connect to it. They love not only the collection, but love what it stands for. It’s not only creating fragrances that evoke emotions, but it’s one of the few lines on that level that are clean.”
The brand did not comment on sales but industry sources estimated that turnover is expected to be in the $12 million range for the year.
Now, with fresh capital, the brand has plans to expand its retail footprint and grow distribution internationally. It will also invest in scaling its business at Sephora North America, which is a key focus for the brand.
Having also backed Urban Decay’s Wende Zomnir’s second business venture Caliray , Rich Gersten, True Beauty Ventures cofounder and managing partner, told WWD there is something unique about second-time founders.
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“There’s something special about backing founders who’ve done it before. You don’t see it very often, and when we see it with founders that we admire and respect, it does make it easier for us to make an investment decision. We’re big admirers of what Lev and Alina did at Fresh and really respect what they’ve been able to pull together at The Maker. It’s very unique and differentiated,” said Gersten.
In terms of category, he added that fragrance has a strong tailwind. It’s the second investment True Beauty Ventures has made in fragrance, having previously invested in 7 Virtues .
“We now have two in our second fund so the category was exciting to us. The founder background and the executive team that they’ve put together, all who have collectively worked together for many, many years, was a very big, attractive selling point. We love the storytelling aspects of this brand, the inspiration from the hotel, and the experiential nature of the hotel.”
Roytberg also noted how much the beauty investment landscape has changed since Fresh was sold to LVMH in 2000.
“The beauty industry was very different at the time when we started Fresh. It was extremely challenging to get any capital,” she said. “You really had to grow on your own and through high-net-worth individuals or something to keep moving your company forward until, obviously, we had this strategic partnership with LVMH.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, apart from this is an investment in the beauty brand and not the hotel.
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