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Zoë Foster Blake sells controlling stake in Go-To Skincare for $89m

Rebecca Le MayNCA NewsWire
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Camera IconNot Supplied Credit: Supplied

Former journalist turned author and skincare entrepreneur Zoë Foster Blake has sold a controlling stake in the range she founded to the company behind Sukin products.

ASX-listed BWX on Friday announced it had taken a 50.1 per cent slice of Ms Foster Blake’s Go-To Skincare for about $89m.

BWX, which sealed a five-year supplier deal with Chemist Warehouse Group in February, said her 2014-born company had a range of “simple, trusted and effective skincare products for the masstige market” and last year generated $36.8m of revenue.

Masstige is a term to describe brands that are sold mass market due to their affordability but have a prestige or luxury feel.

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The glamorous Zoë Foster Blake has many strings to her bow beyond her own skincare empire.
Camera IconThe glamorous Zoë Foster Blake has many strings to her bow beyond her own skincare empire. Credit: Supplied

BWX says Go-To will remain an independently operated, stand-alone, founder-led brand but will leverage its new controlling shareholder’s expertise and capability in certain areas, with Ms Foster Blake to remain a strategic investor, chief creative officer and board director.

“The partnership represents a strategically and financially compelling opportunity for BWX to collaborate with one of Australia’s leading skin care entrepreneurs and support Go-To’s ongoing growth,” it said.

Ms Foster Blake said her company had been seeking a partner to bring it to the next level, one that “got” its brands and point of difference.

Go-To Skincare sunscreen Zincredible FOR WEEKEND LOVE IT
Camera IconGo-To Skincare is one of Mecca’s best-selling brands. Credit: Supplied

“BWX immediately made sense. They live and breathe skincare and have a proven track record globally,” she said.

“Our premium offering will complement their existing brand portfolio, and BWX’s capabilities and commitment to accelerating our growth both internationally and domestically means we will fulfil our purpose of looking after more people’s skin more of the time.”

Beyond the Go-To core brand aimed at women and mainly sold direct to consumers online, there’s also the Gro-To plant-based skincare for babies and kids, and Bro-To marketed to boys and men.

Go-To is also one of Mecca’s best-selling brands.

On her blog Zo They Say, Ms Foster Blake says her company “was informed by a decade working as a beauty editor and a special brand of arrogance that makes Zoë believe she can compete in a market that already features three billion products”.

“Go-To is much beloved for being uncomplicated, easy to use, fun, useful, genuinely effective and 100 per cent free from bullsh*t,” she wrote.

“Prior to being an obnoxious skincare tycoon, Go-To, Zoe worked in journalism for titles like Harper’s BAZAAR and Cosmopolitan and started a beauty blog about beauty called fruitybeauty back in 2006 when people thought a ‘blogger’ was something you used to unblock your bathroom drain.

“Zoë has also written a sh*t ton of books.”

BWX’s brands include Sukin and Andalou.
Camera IconBWX’s brands include Sukin and Andalou. Credit: Supplied

Originally published as Zoë Foster Blake sells controlling stake in Go-To Skincare for $89m

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