INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Walker Company Brands, a startup making health and beauty products for people of color, has been acquired by consumer giant Procter
Gamble.The company was founded five years ago by Tristan Walker, who previously led business development for Foursquare, and who aimed to
create products that would better serve the needs of people of color with coarse or curly hair
started out with its Bevel shaving products for men, then launched Form, a collection of hair products for women.PG says the acquisition
will help it “better serve consumers of color around the world.” Walker Co
will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the larger organization, with Walker continuing to serve as CEO, and the entire 15-person team
moving to Atlanta.“When I started Walker Company Brands, I set out to build a company that would meet the health and beauty needs of
people of color on a global scale,” Walker said in the announcement
“Having access to PG’s outstanding technology, capabilities and expertise helps us to further realize that vision, giving us the power
to scale and bring new products to people of color, while staying true to our mission and continuing to nurture the loyal community we’ve
worked hard to build.”The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed
According to Crunchbase, Walker Co
had raised more than $33.3 million in funding, most recently in a Series B three years ago
Investors include Institutional Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Upfront Ventures, Daher Capital, Collaborative Fund, Google Ventures,
Felicis Ventures and Melo7 Tech Partners.“We have tremendous respect for the work Tristan Walker has accomplished and we are excited to
welcome Walker Company to the PG family,” said PG Beauty CEO Alex Keith in a statement
“The combination of Walker Company’s deep consumer understanding, authentic connection to its community and unique, highly customized
products and PG’s highly-skilled and experienced people, resources, technical capabilities and global scale will allow us to further
improve the lives of the world’s multicultural consumers.”
