Vacation, the sun care brand steeped in nostalgia, has hired Raymond James to explore a minority stake deal as it looks to translate vibes into value.
Vacation and Raymond James declined to comment. Sources tell Beauty Independent the investment bank has been holding fireside chats to present the brand to potential partners, with a formal process slated to start next year. People familiar with the discussions indicate a capital raise from a financial sponsor is the most likely outcome.
Founded by friends Marty Bell, Lach Hall and Dakota Green, Vacation launched direct-to-consumer in 2021 with Classic Lotion SPF 30, a sunscreen featuring a banana-and-coconut scent developed by Arquiste Parfumeur founder and perfumer Carlos Huber and Givaudan senior perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux to evoke sun-soaked beach days. Bell previously created and ran Poolsuite, a retro internet radio platform. Hall and Green have backgrounds in advertising and brand building.
Distinct from sun brands that lean heavily into dermatologist approval or clinical claims, Vacation leans into lifestyle-driven storytelling, its transportive fragrance and experiential formats. The brand’s imagery borrows from travel brochures, vintage print ads and resort signage. Its packaging features serif fonts, sun-faded color palettes and iconography reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s.
“Their tone is just brilliant—playful, nostalgic and self-aware, but, importantly, it’s disciplined. Unlike other CPG brands, it’s not jokey for the sake of being jokey. There’s a clear POV rooted in escapism, leisure and Americana, and they apply it rigorously,” says Sara Brooks, co-founder of brand strategy consultancy Goldilocks. “From a buyer’s perspective, this is extremely valuable because tone is usually the hardest thing to scale or preserve post-acquisition.”
Vacation has raised roughly $11.2 million in funding, according to funding disclosures and deal announcements. In 2023, it closed a $6 million series A round led by Silas Capital. True Beauty Ventures, BFG Partners, Sonoma Brands, Bluemercury co-founder Marla Beck and Sol de Janeiro co-founder and CEO Heela Yang are other investors.
This year, per information provided to The Wall Street Journal, the brand is profitable and projected to double sales to $80 million. As of Nov. 30, consumer insights firm Numerator estimates Vacation held a 1.2% share of the sunscreen market in the United States. As of June 30, it ranked as the No. 13 brand in the category. Beiersdorf-owned Coppertone, Edgewell-owned Banana Boat and Kenvue-owned Neutrogena are among the leading sun care brands in the country.
For possible future investors or buyers, Vacation’s marketing savviness and leadership could be a key asset. “What really stands out about Vacation is the founding team. You’re not just buying a brand; you’re buying three founders whose skill sets are highly complementary and deeply attuned to culture,” says Shelly Socol, co-founder and CEO of the agency 1r. “That kind of leadership is difficult to replicate and often underappreciated in transactions.”
Vacation entered retail at Ulta Beauty in 2023 before arriving at Target, CVS, Nordstrom, Erewhon and Costco. The brand is available on Amazon, too, where Navigo Marketing estimates it generates $5 million to $10 million in annual sales. The e-commerce agency believes the brand is under-monetized on the giant e-tailer, and it could become a stronger growth lever.
“There’s a clear POV rooted in escapism, leisure and Americana, and they apply it rigorously.”
Under the tagline “The World’s Best-Smelling Sunscreen,” Vacation’s assortment sits at the intersection of sun care, fragrance and body care and is positioned as masstige, with core sunscreen products primarily priced between $15 and $25. The brand also flexes its lifestyle credentials with merchandise such as shirts and hats and collaborations with brands such as AriZona and Prince.
Along with its throwback sensibilities and memory-triggering scent, Vacation is known for playing with sunscreen product formats. Its products include Classic Whip SPF 50, Chardonnay Oil Sunscreen SPF 30, Shimmer Oil SPF 30, Orange Gelée SPF 30 Sunscreen Gel, a modern interpretation of the discontinued cult favorite Bain de Soleil Orange Gelée, and body mists and eau de toilettes in three varieties: After Sun, Grand Cuvée and Vacation.
The sun care market is expanding, and investment has poured into brands like Ultra Violette, Standard Procedure, Minu and Supergoop, which Blackstone obtained majority ownership of in 2021. Globally, market research firm Grand View Research forecasts it will go from $12.44 billion in 2024 to nearly $16 billion by 2030, reflecting rising awareness of skin health and daily usage.
However, big deals in the space have been rare. In 2019, S.C. Johnson acquired Sun Bum at a reported valuation of about $400 million, and later that year took a majority stake in sun care brand Coola. At approximately $70 million in annual sales at the time, Sun Bum sold at a revenue multiple of about 5.7X. While strategic buyers dominated beauty M&A this year, private equity firms are sitting on significant dry powder for minority growth investments.
“Sun care is still a growing category, but competition is increasing,” says Chris Vernicek, a financial consultant and founder of Modern Man Ventures. “There are a lot more brands, a lot more formats, and sunscreen enthusiasts in particular have flocked to K-Beauty sunscreens for different textures, filters and innovation. The opportunity is there, but it’s a much noisier market than it was even a few years ago.”
As Vacation explores its next phase, investors are due to scrutinize whether the brand’s nostalgic appeal has long-term staying power, alongside questions around sustained profitability, regulatory constraints on mousse sunscreens like Classic Whip, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not cleared as over-the-counter sunscreens, and its ability to tap into international markets. A private equity partnership could serve as a proving ground for scale and operational maturity ahead of future strategic interest.
Socol thinks Vacation has the credibility with its customers—appealing to a broad demographic, from shoppers familiar with its 1970s- and 1980s-era themes from their younger days to those just being introduced to them—to push into a wide array of products and stay top of mind with intriguing collaborations. She points to bath and shower products and new scents as viable extensions.
“Vacation is on the tip of everybody’s tongue. You just feel it,” says Socol. “It’s not just a pretty picture or the way they’ve done it with their assets, content and the language they are producing. It’s visceral, emotional and visual.”
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