13 Lune Closes $8M Seed Plus Funding To Gasoline Growth

Thirteen Lune, the inclusive beauty e-commerce destination co-founded by industry veterans Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning, has closed on an $8 million seed plus investment round with new participation from The BrainTrust Fund.

The fund, led by Kendra Bracken-Ferguson and Lisa Stone, makes early-stage venture investments identified via BrainTrust Founders Studio, the largest platform dedicated to Black founders of beauty and wellness companies.

Thirteen lune’s strong 2022 performance, evidenced by 2,000%+ sales growth year-over-year, was fueled by the launch of its first private label brand, Relevant: Your Skin Seen; the expansion of its in-store partnership with JCPenney Beauty; and the addition of nationally recognized BIPOC-founded brands to its platform including Ami Colé, Buttah Skin and Pattern Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross.

The capital raise will drive its omnichannel approach, supporting brick and mortar, experiential retail and Relevant: Your Skin Seen brand expansion. This capital, along with an initial Seed round led by Fearless Fund, together represents $12.5 million in total funds raised. With this seed plus investment, thirteen lune will reach profitability in 2023.

“As a 20+ year Black beauty entrepreneur, it’s an honor to shape the landscape of inclusive beauty, acting as an agent of change for BIPOC brand founders to receive recognition and opportunity,” said Nyakio Grieco, Thirteen Lune cofounder. “Our partners share thirteen lune’s mission to support diverse founders who have historically had fewer resources and opportunities to build a business and create generational wealth.”

In two short years, Thirteen Lune has grown from an e-commerce destination featuring 13 foundational Black-founded brands, to offering 160+ beauty brands on its platform, 90% of which are BIPOC-founded, with the remaining 10% being from ally brands. In 2023, Thirteen Lune will continue expanding into 600 JCPenney locations nationwide and open its own flagship store in Los Angeles.

“Since the launch of thirteen lune in 2020, we’ve proven that inclusivity and scalability are not mutually exclusive,” said Patrick Herning, Thirteen Lune CEO and cofounder. “With a mission to inspire the discovery of BIPOC-founded brands for people of all colors and backgrounds, we enter 2023 continuing to lead with intention and authenticity that will position us to continue our growth and momentum.”

Grieco and Herning launched thirteen lune in 2020, which included initial investments from Fearless Fund, Capstar Ventures, Sean (Diddy) Combs, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hannah Bronfman and Naomi Watts.

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