The clean and natural beauty movement is well and truly mainstream. The rise of conscious consumerism has seen the natural beauty and wellbeing market grow by over 12% annually. 

The proliferation of small brands that gain cult following are eroding the market share of the big players. 

BWX (ASX: BWX) is a leading wellness business with a suite of natural brands under their banner pursuant to their mission “to accelerate a revolution to that natural wellness is the only choice.”

Joining their five market leading brands is Flora & Fauna, an online retailer exclusively selling vegan, ethical and sustainable products. BWX will acquire 100% of the eCommerce retailer for between $27.9 million and $30.8 million based on revenue performance of Flora & Fauna for FY21.

The B Corp certified business was founded in 2014 by Julie Mathers and has become Australia’s largest eco store. Their values based governance has seen them save over 30 tonnes of plastic from landfill by shipping orders plastic free. 

The business currently ranges 10,000 SKUs across 10 categories from over 300 brands. The platform boasts 94,000 active customer accounts and has a strong following with repeat customers making up the majority of revenues. 

Julie Mathers, Flora & Fauna’s CEO and Founder said “This is a really exciting step for Flora & Fauna and the wider industry. BWX offers Flora & Fauna the opportunity to grow even further as a business with strong alignment about having a positive impact on the planet, people and animals.” 

“I am a firm believer in giving customers the best experience while operating purposeful businesses that are built on nimble, innovative retailing and world-class customer metrics, and I look forward to continuing, and building on, this approach as part of the BWX team.” 

In 2015 BWX launched their flagship skin care brand, Sukin. By 2016 Sukin had become Australia’s number 1 skincare brand in pharmacy. BWX then decided to focus on brand building rather than third party manufacturing. Since then they have acquired multiple health and wellness brands both in Australia and the US. 

For the Half Year ended 31 December 2020, BWX reported a 0.6% increase in revenue to $84.5m but stronger operational performance resulted in a 133% increase in NPAT to $9.9m for the period. The Company issued a fully franked interim dividend of 1.0 cent per share.