Chanel has found a buyer for Capsum, in which it had held a majority stake since the 2010s. On Tuesday, October 20, investment fund Motion Equity Partners officially announced its acquisition of a majority stake in the company, which specializes in the formulation of high-end skincare, makeup and fragrances. Sébastien Bardon, Capsum’s founder and CEO, and his management team are also reinvesting in the company. Chanel will remain a minority shareholder in the company.

Founded in 2008, Capsum partners with some of the world’s leading luxury and prestige beauty brands (including Chanel, Elizabeth Arden, Galénic, La Prairie, L’Occitane, Meaningful Beauty), to develop and manufacture highly innovative cosmetic products. The company is notably recognized for its pioneering expertise in microfluidics, a proprietary technology used to encapsulate active ingredients and create visually distinctive and highly sensorial textures. Capsum has progressively evolved into a multi-technology CDMO, developing and manufacturing both microfluidic and non-microfluidic products across skincare, makeup, haircare, and fragrance.

Over the past twelve years, Capsum, which employs 270 people, has grown fifteenfold, reaching nearly EUR 80 million in revenue. The United States accounts for around one-third of sales, reflecting the company’s successful expansion in the market, notably through the opening of a state-of-the-art production facility in Austin, Texas, in 2020. In Europe, Capsum recently opened a new facility near Marseille, France.

Motion EP said it intend to support Capsum to activate new growth drivers. In the US, Capsum will leverage its established presence and the recent acquisition of the clean beauty formulator KKT Labs to expand its commercial footprint and accelerate its multi-technology offering beyond microfluidics. Today, close to 40% of Capsum’s US business is already non-microfluidic. In Asia, where market potential is deep, there are significant growth opportunities. Motion EP also sees significant opportunities for growth in Asia.

Capsum, which invests more than 11% of its annual revenue in R&D, also aims to expand into adjacent markets with strong growth potential.

The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.