Blue Gem acquires cult beauty brand ICONIC London

Private equity house Blue Gem, backer of Liberty, Jack Wills and Mamas & Papas, has acquired cult beauty brand ICONIC London just three years after it was launched.

Created by entrepreneur Jade Elliott, the brand was launched via Instagram and has leveraged its celebrity following – the brand has been spotted on Meghan Markle, Jennifer Lopez and the Kardashians – to drive its success. It has made more than 250,000 orders to date.

Elliott said she had identified a gap in the market for an affordable, "fun and rebellious" beauty range, which disrupts traditional retail models by being first to market with innovative products, which often sell out in a matter of hours, thanks to its 800,000 strong Instagram following and 9m site visits.

Its latest innovation, the Prep, Set Glow Spray, which was unveiled in April sold out within six hours of launch and has since sold consistently every 60 seconds worldwide.

The investment by Blue Gem will be used to support the brand’s US roll out later this year, aiming to increase the brand’s 30% US consumer share, as well as supporting Elliott’s vision to quadruple brand growth and increasing retailer support worldwide.

"I have always believed in ICONIC and am so proud of what it has become having only started the brand three years ago from my bedroom – but the time has come to take ICONIC to the next level with the right investment. ICONIC has been the most incredible journey and I cannot wait to embark on the next stage with Blue Gem’s support.

"I am so excited and proud to be partnering with such a great team. To be part of their illustrious list of brands is an honour and to have their backing to take ICONIC to the next stage is incredible. We have some very exciting projects in the coming months which we cannot wait to reveal with our loyal customer base and grow the brand even further," said Elliot.

Following the acquisition, Elliott will remain at the helm of the brand in her continued role as founder & creative director, leading new product development, while Selma Terzic – previously general manager at MAC and managing director at St Tropez & PZ Cussons – joins as CEO, to manage and grow global retailers and support brand growth.