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Personal care brand Bravo Sierra raises $17M Series B

Richard Collings
Two canisters, one silver and for deodorant and the other black and containing body spray, lay on top of a green duffle bag.

Photo: Bravo Sierra

Bravo Sierra, a personal care brand initially aimed at the armed services community, raised $17 million in a Series B round led by The Merchant Group.

Why it matters: Startups selling essentials or staples like personal care products continue to secure financing, despite a difficult fundraising environment and a decline in consumer staples deals over the last year.

Details: The company declined to comment on valuation, but Bravo Sierra will use fresh funds to expand into Walmart stores nationwide, beginning Aug. 20, as well as maintain its presence in Target and on Amazon.

  • The raise and expanded distribution is an effort to turbocharge scaling, co-CEOs Benjamin Bernet and Justin Guilbert tell Axios.
  • Proceeds will also be invested in product development, with an eye toward rolling out new products in 2025.
  • Existing investors Capstar Ventures, Redo Ventures, AF Ventures, and Mousse Partners, among others, also participated in this latest round.

What's next: Bravo Sierra plans to launch a fine fragrance for the upcoming holiday season, the execs say.

By the numbers: To date, the seller of deodorant, body sprays, fragrances, SPF products, body washes and cleansers has raised roughly $40 million.

  • A $6.75 million seed round in 2019 helped Bravo Sierra first introduce its products to military exchanges.
  • A $12 million Series A round, meanwhile, helped fuel growth in channels such as Target and Amazon.
  • Revenue has been doubling year over year on average since 2019, and it expects to do the same this year.

Of note: In addition to being lifelong friends, Bernet and Guilbert bring complementary backgrounds to their company.

  • Guilbert is a serial entrepreneur having founded companies such as Intraloop and Harmless Harvest.
  • Bernet spent a number of years at beauty giant L'Oreal and founded companies including DooBop and Say Hello to Sexy Legs.

The intrigue: In brainstorming the idea for a new business, Bernet and Guilbert landed on first marketing to the military, pointing out that some 270 million Americans have either served or know someone who has.

  • A percentage of proceeds go toward supporting the armed services community.
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