Walker & Company Brands announced on Monday that it has raised $24 million in funding.
The company, which makes health and beauty products for people of color, was backed by an A-list of individual investors include Earvin “Magic†Johnson, John Legend, Andreessen Horowitz, San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York, San Francisco 49ers President Paraag Marathe and others.
The funding was led by Institutional Venture Partners as well as Upfront Ventures, Daher Capital, Collaborative Funding, Google Ventures, Felicis Ventures and Melo7Tech Partners.
Walker & Company Brands also announced a new deal to sell Bevel–its shaving system designed to address the special needs of coarse and curly hair–at Target stores in the United States and at Target.com.
This latest round of funding allows Walker & Company to speed up development of additional health and beauty products for people of color; reinvest in team growth, and establish more distribution channels.
“Walker & Company Brands was created to make health and beauty simple for people of color. I’m so grateful that our mission has been enthusiastically embraced by our customers who continue to drive the growth of the company with their loyalty to our flagship product,†said Walker & Company Brands CEO Tristan Walker. “We are excited to partner with our investors to continue delivering on this mission through the diversification of our product offerings and development of new distribution channels for Bevel.â€
“Walker & Company Brands is doing something that has not been done before–addressing the overlooked and unmet health and beauty needs of consumers of color,†said Somesh Dash, general partner at IVP. “With an unwavering focus on efficacious products, superior customer service and authenticity in all that the company does, Walker & Company Brands is primed to break out as a leader in the market.â€
“Magic Johnson Enterprises and Walker & Company Brands share the same mission of making a positive impact on multicultural communities. African Americans want quality products that meet our unique needs and we over-index in spending when it comes to consumer goods,†said Earvin “Magic†Johnson, retired NBA player and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises. “I am excited to support Tristan and his vision of creating distinct products for people of color.â€
Established in 2013, Walker & Company Brands found success with Bevel, its flagship product. The company is focused on the continual developing, designing, and testing of health and beauty products and services for people of color.