The beauty and personal care sector is undergoing significant shifts, creating compelling divestment and acquisition opportunities, according to a new report from Kearney. But this moment will be temporary, the report adds. Smart players will need to move fast. Here, we offer a breakdown of the industry’s investment landscape over the next 12-18 months, including top brands targeted for purchase, key categories with the most investment promise and the regional realities—from Asia to North America. Let’s break it down.
The beauty and personal care sector is undergoing significant shifts, creating compelling divestment and acquisition opportunities, according to a new report from Kearney. But this moment will be temporary, the report adds. Smart players will need to move fast. Here, we offer a breakdown of the industry’s investment landscape over the next 12-18 months, including top brands targeted for purchase, key categories with the most investment promise and the regional realities—from Asia to North America. Let’s break it down.
2024: Lower-priced Deals & a Growing Focus on Growth, Scaling
To understand the dynamics in 2025 and beyond, it’s critical to understand what drove deals in 2024.
Breaking down 2024 results reveals some trend through lines. According to Kearney, there were 355 beauty and personal care transactions last year, compared to 254 in 2023.
Per the report, 76% of transactions were valued at less than $100 million, while just 3% were valued at greater than $1 billion.
Top categories for beauty and personal care transactions focused on skin care, personal care, medical aesthetics and spa solutions, as well as beauty tech such as AI systems and enhanced diagnostics.
The rationale for investing largely focused on portfolio scaling and growth acceleration, the latter of which has grown in significance in recent years.
This was typified in the recent Series A funding of Wonderskin, led by Insight Partners, which was focused on boosting the brand’s retail expansion and product innovation.
In 2024, Asia, led by South Korea, accounted for 34% of all deals—a greater portion than North America—signaling the primacy of K-beauty.
That said, Europe and the United States “remained key hubs for M&A activity” in 2024.
Seize the Moment: Why Agility and Innovation Matter in the Next 18 Months
With portfolio realignments accelerating and valuations resetting, the next 12 to 18 months present a critical window for action, per Kearney.
In that period, the firm is projecting that corporate investors will divest select brands due to “cost pressures and the slowing market.” Private equity is also expected to sell brands to “return capital to shareholders.”
This can create key buying opportunities for savvy investors.
At the same time, funds generated by these sales could support investments in start-ups with strong fundamentals or growth opportunities.
2025 Top Beauty and Personal Care Transaction Opportunities
According to Kearney, the sectors most likely to attract choosy investment dollars track many trends over the last few years, in particular:
- Luxury, prestige and masstige brands
- Facial skin care
- Fragrance
- Dermocosmetics
- Doctor brands
- Influencer brands
- Injectables
- Brands in North America and India
As for the brands that could be for sale in 2025, Kearney has flagged the following brands as top candidates:
- Westman Atelier
- Merit Beauty
- Augustinus Bader,
- Drunk Elephant (should Shiseido decide to divest it)
- Makeup by Mario
- Xerjoff
- Gisou
- Biologique Recherche
- Boy Smells
- Olaplex
- Rare Beauty
- Nishane
- Madison Reed
- Versed
- Kosas Cosmetics
- Dossier
- IGK
- La Prairie
- TooFaced
- Perfumer H
- Aveda
"The question is not whether to make decisions, but how quickly and strategically players can capitalize on these opportunities before the landscape evolves again," the report concludes. "For those seeking leadership in beauty and personal care, now is the time to act."
