Phlur, the 'clean' Indie fragrance company known for being fully transparent about its ingredients, has received $7 million in Series A funding in a round led by Symrise. Phlur has also acquired Texas Beauty Labs. 

Texas Beauty Labs is a leading independent manufacturer of clean beauty products founded by Mary Berry in 2008. The company just announced it has changed its name, and is now The Goodkind Co. 

The new name reflects its evolution, a statement says, to further enhance its products and services, along with its mission to help bring safer, more sustainable and innovative beauty products to market. 

Eric Korman, co-founder/CEO, Phlur, says, "When we started four years ago, the words 'clean beauty' were not part of the common vernacular. We created a line of thoughtfully crafted fragrances with full ingredient transparency because we felt it was the right thing to do."

Korman continues, "Now clean beauty has become a movement, with more and more people correctly holding brands accountable to create safer and more sustainable products and be fully transparent in their product decisions."

A Shared Vision - To Create Beauty Products with Integrity

Korman first partnered with The Goodkind Co. last year to develop Phlur's body care line. Next, the new partners jointly launched Explore Naturals, an all-natural deodorant line. 

Korman says, "When I first met Mary and heard her story, I knew that our shared vision of creating beauty products with integrity and heart could lead to some amazing opportunities. We're thrilled by our new ability to rapidly evolve and test new products, and equally important, extend this ability to empower the independent beauty community. Our combined objective: to further accelerate the adoption of clean products by mainstream customers."

Investing in 'Clean' Beauty

Phlur received more than $7 million in Series A funding, in a round led by Symrise Inc., joined by existing investor Next Coast Ventures, along with a new investor, Belcorp, the second largest beauty company in South America.

Achim Daub, global president of Scent & Care, Symrise Inc., says, "At Symrise, we have been leading the way for more sustainable fragrance and cosmetic ingredients for years and we fully support Phlur's vision of full transparency. We are excited to partner with The Goodkind Co to be able to efficiently bring this innovation to the indie beauty community for the first time."

Daub continues, "Eric's early vision behind the clean fragrance movement compelled our decision to originally invest in Phlur. This combination is even more compelling, as it enables Phlur to accelerate its leading position in clean fragrance, and creatively double down in clean beauty overall—both of which are of strategic interest to us as a leading supplier of innovative cosmetic ingredients and sustainable fragrance materials and creations around the world." 

Erika Herrero, CEO of Belcorp adds, "We believe that companies in the industry have a valuable opportunity to respond to the needs of our consumers and, at the same time, preserve the harmony and beauty of our surroundings." 

Photos: (L) via Phlur.com / (R) via Instagram/TexasBeautyLabs