The actress and model’s Honest Co. online baby-products maker has raised $100 million, valuing the 3-year-old firm at $1.7 billion, according to a report.
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Founded in 2011 with 17 products, Honest now offers about 100 items including baby wipes; bottles and formula; shampoo, conditioner and body gel; sanitizers; laundry and dish soap; and now feminine care products.
Honest co-founder and CEO, Brian Lee, is known for his flare with startups and celebrities.
Earlier this year, the company confirmed its sales increased to $170 million last year, a sharp increase from $60 million in 2013.
They created the company, Alba says, “because we had to”.
Two new investors took part in the latest financing round: Glade Brook Capital Partners and AllianceBernstein.
The journey hasn’t all been a walk in the shade.
Honest faced a major challenge last year in Amazon.com, which introduced a diaper brand that promised full transparency about the products’ origins. But it withdrew the diapers after receiving many complaints from its customers on the design.
The company recently came under fire for its sunscreen, with consumers sharing pictures of sunburns the suffered despite using the product. “An independent probe found that the sunscreen did not have enough zinc oxide”.
Honest caught flak this summer after customers complained its sunscreen wasn’t effective, but Alba insisted her products underwent strict testing.
We have reached out to The Honest Company for comment and will update this post accordingly.
Despite of the good business, Honest does face some glitches.
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LOL! all the way to the bank, it appears.
