BeachMint Gets $23.5 Million Investment, Debuts StyleMint
These are boom times for the BeachMint Inc., a Santa Monica, Calif.–based e-commerce and fashion company.On July 1, it will debut StyleMint, an apparel line designed by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen that will be sold at the line’s vertical e-commerce store.
On June 17, BeachMint announced it secured $23.5 million in venture funding. The lead venture firms in this deal were Scale Venture Partners, based in Foster City, Calif., and Lightbank, based in Chicago. Investment firms New Enterprise Associates, Trinity Ventures and Anthem Ventures also participated in the most recent round of funding, which is BeachMint’s second. A company statement said it would use the funds to fuel growth. “We have a lot of ideas to expand our family of Mint brands into various consumer product categories, and this new funding enables us to grow our influencer partnerships.”
BeachMint mixes celebrity culture, social commerce and online retailing. To gain access to BeachMint sites, consumers register as members and fill out style questionnaires on the sites. With BeachMint’s predictive algorithms, the site selects particular styles, fashions and accessories for its members.
StyleMint’s fashions will be designed by celebrities and critically acclaimed fashion designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. In October 2010, BeachMint debuted JewelMint, a jewelry site helmed by actor Kate Bosworth and stylist Cheryl Coulter.—Andrew Asch
