An early investor in Dedcool has upped its stake in the fragrance brand.
Sandbridge Capital, which also backs Everist, Madison Reed and U Beauty, has taken on a more significant minority position in Dedcool, the functional fragrance brand.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though industry sources expect the brand to reach between $25 million and $30 million in net sales in 2025.
Founder Carina Chaz has been an early arriver to then-microtrends that have since become key drivers of both her business and the category overall, which is the fastest-growing one in the U.S. prestige market, such as rethought formats and functional benefits.
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“For us, the importance was to reshape the scent experience,” she said. “We want to allow consumers to build off of their individuality with our scent ranges and create these self expressions through daily touchpoints.”
In that vein, Chaz has expanded the brand beyond personal fragrance to encompass laundry detergent and pet products, as well as buzzy collaborations like one with Procter & Gamble-owned hair brand Ouai.
“We have a head start on all the things in this diverse category,” Chaz continued. “I wanted to see my fragrances lived throughout my life, and it’s representative of how we consume [scents].”
Sandbridge quietly took a small stake in the brand after Chaz met Ken Suslow, founder and managing partner of the firm, in late 2022.
“We have this much more significant capital raise because they’ve seen the momentum, the growth, and taking that initial small investment and stayed profitable while growing 600 percent since then,” Chaz said.
Added Suslow, “Carina is already well along in building a compellingly special brand — one that innovates its way across fragrance and other CPG categories that have long been starved of modernity and newness — artfully infusing the bespoke creativity that has fast become Dedcool’s much beloved calling card. I could not be more enthused to continue supporting Carina and her stellar Dedcool team along their amazing brand journey — the best is so clearly still yet to come as Dedcool’s runaway multichannel growth continues unabated.”
Sephora carries the brand, where Chaz has seen success, as well as on the brand’s own website. Its newest fragrance, Mochi Milk, is on its way to hero product status, despite only launching April 2.
“When we talk about being a digitally native brand, I understand that comes from both digital [sales] and the halo building that’s working in our community,” Chaz said, which jibes with how the infusion will best serve the brand’s growth.
“It’s about telling this story, growing awareness, and we do that with collaborations, online and with Sephora. That way, we continuously pulse within the digital landscape and that translates across Sephora as well,” she said.
The brand’s biggest awareness boost, though, comes from word-of-mouth. “Our secret sauce is ultimately allowing consumers to drench their life in a signature scent,” she said. Elsewhere, the brand will introduce some branding tweaks at the end of the year, as well as growing the team.
“We’re really focusing on Sephora,” Chaz said. “We’re ensuring that everything comes out of Dedcool has quality and value, and then focusing on newness, new eyeballs and retention.”