Castanea Partners announced today that it has invested in Thymes, a company that creates and markets unique, branded fragrances across the bath & body and home fragrance categories.
Originally founded in 1982 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thymes creates highly curated fragrance collections with product lines that include body and hand lotions, bar soaps and bubble baths, candles, fragrance mists, potpourris, reed diffusers, and refresher oils. Thymes is seen as a premium and innovative brand that has a unique consumer appeal. The company is also home to one of the most recognizable and proven home fragrances, Frasier Fir. Thymes products are sold in over 5,000 specialty retail locations in the United States.
“Thymes is an exciting opportunity in the branded personal care and beauty space, an area of focus for us,” said Robert Smith, Managing Partner at Castanea. “The company is at a stage in its development where our sector expertise and operating experience will add value as Thymes pursues its growth potential. We look forward to working closely with Anne and the Thymes team to support the company’s continuing growth.”
Anne Sempowski Ward, CEO of Thymes, said: “This strategic alliance with Castanea Partners will advance Thymes’s plans of continued expansion into select premium and specialty distribution channels, and significantly contribute to the next level of our success.”
Troy Stanfield, of Stanfield Capital and a former partner at Castanea, will be joining the board of Thymes, having organized a syndicate of other investors including Stanfield Capital, RCPDirect II LP, Northstar Mezzanine Partners VI, LP, and management.
Said Troy Stanfield: “I’m very excited to partner with my old team at Castanea and look forward to working closely with Anne and the Thymes team.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Castanea
Castanea is a private equity firm that works in partnership with founders and management teams of innovative passion brands to grow their businesses through a combination of capital investment and operating expertise. We are focused on select consumer verticals including beauty, food and beverage, multi-unit services, and enthusiast lifestyle. We typically invest between $15 to $150 million of equity in minority or majority transactions. Our team of talented operating executives offers critical expertise in key verticals and functional areas, and provides our partner companies with strategic and tactical support. Castanea has more than $1 billion in assets under management and is currently investing from a $735 million fourth fund. For more information about Castanea Partners read our story.