Black-owned haircare company, Mielle Organics, announced that Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based firm, has made a significant investment in the company.
While the exact amount was not disclosed in the press release, Berkshire typically makes equity investments of $100 million to $1 billion in size.
The funding will be used to expand Mielle’s growth plans and help further its mission to educate, empower, and excite Mielle’s customers and the broader hair care community.
A portion will also be used to fund Mielle’s More Than a Strand program, which is the heart of the company’s mission to strengthen the bond between mothers, daughters, and young girls across the United States, Caribbean, and Africa.
Company co-founders Monique and Melvin Rodriguez (CEO and COO, respectively) remain majority owners and maintain control of the company.
“We are excited to forge this historic partnership with Berkshire Partners,” said Mielle CEO and co-founder Monique Rodriguez. “Their investment reinforces our mission for community development and growth of Mielle’s vision of global expansion. We are also thrilled to continue this journey with New Voices. They believed in Mielle from the beginning and have truly been a great partner. These are the types of steps it takes to create generational wealth and jobs for people of color. We are truly grateful for their partnership.”
“We started this business in our garage, sparked by Monique’s passion to build a worldwide community of women,” added Melvin Rodriguez, co-founder and COO. “During the past seven years, we’ve been able to expand our product lines, increase our distribution and invest in our community; we are excited to continue innovating and developing new products, grow awareness of Mielle, and reach even more consumers to give them products that they deserve.”
