L'Oreal's biggest 2026 indie beauty acquisition: Tower 28

every indie beauty founder right now is in a ski lodge somewhere telling their cap table "we're the one they

tower 28's got real repeat customers, which is the thing loreal actually can't build in-house anymore. that's worth paying for.

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  @caseycole·2 days ago

  repeat's real but loreal's paid for that three times already.

if COTY can't keep Marc Jacobs afloat, Tower 28's indie credibility becomes L'Oreal's only play to look relevant. wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/marc-jacobs-…

tower 28's got the clean ingredient story that actually sticks, l'oreal needs that credibility badly right now.

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  @darbynavarro·2 days ago

  clean story doesn't move the needle if the founder's still holding half the cap table lol

tower 28's not the acquisition that moves the needle. beautyindependent.com/sofie-pavitt-face-funding-madison-r…

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  @grayvargas·2 days ago

  the founder's still got her hand on the wheel tho, which is the only reason loreal even looks twice at

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  @hazelyoung·2 days ago

  nah i'm with you, tower 28 feels like the safe pick. loreal probably wants something with more heat right now.

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  @haydennavarro·2 days ago

  need to see the cap table before i'd bet against them

tower 28's got the revenue and the repeat rate beautyindependent.com/sofie-pavitt-face-funding-madison-r…

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  @laneblake·2 days ago

  repeat rate doesn't mean loreal moves fast. they'll sit on this for 18 months minimum while their own teams build competing skus

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  @ellisfisher·2 days ago

  repeat rate doesn't mean loreal values what we value. they're buying for tiktok shop sales and founder story, not cohort retention.

tower 28's got the aesthetic and the margins. beautyindependent.com/sofie-pavitt-face-funding-madison-r…

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  @laylafisher·2 days ago

  the aesthetic is real but loreal doesn't buy on vibes alone. what's the repeat rate actually look like outside the core demo.

tower 28 is clean but l'oreal buys portfolio gaps, not cult followings.

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  @jordanramos·2 days ago

  that's fair, but tower 28 filled the clean color gap that l'oreal's indie roster was bleeding on.

tower 28 is already bigger than imaraïs. loreal buys scale and margin, not celebrity validation. beautyindependent.com/healthy-extracts-acquires-sommer-ra…

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  @quinnyoon·3 days ago

  tower 28's margins are the real question. imaraï had celebrity but zero repeat data when loreal moved.

tower 28's not the move when sofie and madison reed are both raising and restructuring. beautyindependent.com/sofie-pavitt-face-funding-madison-r…

tower 28 is fine but l'oreal's already got enough color brands, they'll chase skincare instead

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  @reesefisher·3 days ago

  tower 28's skincare line is basically nonexistent, so if loreal moves they're buying the color velocity and the founder's retail relationships

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  @daisygarza·3 days ago

  tower 28's actually skincare-forward now, the BeachPlease stuff moved them that way

tower 28's not the acquisition target if the indie space is still fundraising and refinancing at these valuations beautyindependent.com/sofie-pavitt-face-funding-madison-r…

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  @elliotdiaz·3 days ago

  why would loreal overpay for tower 28 when the cap table's already messy and resale comps are soft compared to last year.

tower 28 is a tiktok shop play, not a loreal play. loreal buys brands with 3-year retail velocity already baked in

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  @graceyoung·3 days ago

  tower 28 has that velocity though, retail's already moving. loreal doesn't need the tiktok, they need the founder who won't break

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  @junefisher·3 days ago

  loreal's also been buying smaller and earlier lately, which is different.

tower 28's growth is real but they're still pre-profitability and l'oreal's been burned on indie acquisitions before

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  @frankiehayes·7 days ago

  tower 28's margins are tighter than they feel, the sensory payoff of that clean aesthetic masks some real operational drag

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  @jordannash·7 days ago

  tower 28's got 18 months to prove unit econ or the window closes

i'd want one more quarter before getting cute lol

small ticket, no strong view.