UK-based private equity firm Manzanita Capital has acquired a majority stake in Brooklyn-based niche fragrance brand D.S. & Durga. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded by David Seth Moltz and Kavi Moltz in Brooklyn, New York, in 2009, the brand has ridden the wave of the niche perfumery boom and has gained a devoted following thanks to its distinctive scents and creative branding, with some top-selling fragrances named Debaser, I Don’t Know What and Grapefruit Generation.
Following the acquisition, David Seth Moltz, the brand’s perfumer, and his wife, Kavi Moltz, the brand’s designer, responsible for packaging and image, will remain in their existing roles as chief creatives of the brand. Meanwhile, Monogram Capital, which invested in the brand in 2018, will stay on as a minority stakeholder.
Funds raised will be used to expand D.S & Durga’s retail footprint, hiring new talent and for international expansion.
With a portfolio that includes prestigious brands like Diptyque, Space NK, Malin+Goetz, and Susanne Kaufmann, Manzanita Capital is no stranger to the high-end fragrance and cosmetics business. The investment firm previously invested in perfume brand Byredo, which it sold to Spanish beauty giant Puig in 2022 for a reported sum of USD 1 billion.
