Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. IPO soared in its stock market debut this week.
The IPO values the Honest Co. at around $2.1 billion, according to Fortune, as of Thursday. The California-based business is listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol “HNST”. Honest is offering 6.5 million shares of common stock.
The company, which Alba co-founded in 2011, priced its shares at $16 on Tuesday, which increased 44 percent to $23 a piece in its first public trading on Wednesday.
According to Inc., Honest Company’s revenue was a reported $250 million in 2016, and the celebrity-backed entity was valued at nearly $1 billion a year later, though it has yet to turn a profit.
Are Honest Company Products Vegan?
The cruelty-free brand sells a wide array of beauty and baby products, including some vegan items such as a gel cleanser and brow gel. Alba, 40, is also a fan of the Honest Company’s Everything Tote, which is made of vegan leather.
Honest Company’s products are sold directly through the brand’s website, and it also has partnerships with chains like Costco and Target, which sell its plant-based diaper rash cream, baby wipes, and more.
Alba, who started the company three years after welcoming her first child, has said she founded the brand because she noticed a lack of natural baby products made without harsh chemicals in the marketplace. “The Honest Company was born of a simple purpose: to create safe, effective products for our families and yours,” the brand’s website states.
The Honest Company also strives to give back. It has donated more than 25 million family personal care and clean beauty products to individuals and families in need.
The Cruelty-Free Beauty Boom
Honest Beauty, a line of beauty products under the Honest Company umbrella, formally launched in July 2018. The range includes makeup, moisturizers, facial oils, and more, and the cruelty-free beauty industry has been thriving ever since. In fact, several other stars have subsequently followed in Alba’s footsteps.
For example, in September 2020 Selena Gomez launched her Rare Beauty brand, which is 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free. “For the past few months, you’ve all been asking… and we’re proud to share that our products will be 100% vegan and cruelty-free,” the “Bad Liar” songstress wrote on Instagram at the time. “Like you, we love and care for our animals too.”
Vegan celebrities, such as fellow singer Billie Eilish, have embraced the company.
In February 2021, Jada Pinkett-Smith and her famous family released a gender-neutral, cruelty-free personal care brand at Target. The line, which sells natural deodorants, body washes, and lotions, doesn’t have any products that cost more than $6.
Other stars who have entered the cruelty-free beauty space include Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown, who founded Florence by Mills in 2019. The vegan range, which was named after Brown’s grandmother, makes products for Gen Z.
In May 2019, makeup mogul Kylie Jenner launched her wildly successful 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free skincare brand, Kylie Skin. It’s now a top-selling skin care brand in the U.S. Rihanna, Miranda Kerr, and Lady Gaga also have their own vegan and cruelty-free beauty brands.
Most recently, Zara, the world’s largest apparel retailer, announced it will launch a cruelty-free makeup line on May 12. The range is slated to include more than 130 shades of lipsticks, glosses, and bronzers made with “natural” ingredients.
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