Asian Consortium Secures Majority Stake In Microbiome And Biotechnology Brand Tiny Associates

Tiny Associates, a microbiome- and biotechnology-centered skincare and supplements brand, has sold a majority stake to Grace Inc., a South Korean health and beauty brand distributor, and Conroy Cheng, chair of Advance Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. and vice chair and executive director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd., China’s largest jewelry company.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. It’s expected to help Tiny Associates expand its retail footprint and assortment. The brand will stay headquartered in Stockholm, where founder David Koo Hjalmarsson is based and will continue to direct product innovation, and plans to increase its staff there and be guided in Asia by Grace, the leading partner of South Korean beauty retailer Olive Young that supplies over 50,000 points of sale in South Korea and works with over 50 brands such as Mustela and Yves Rocher.

Koo Hjalmarsson, who’s also the co-founder and managing director of Kind To Biome, a certifier of microbiome-friendly products, and former CEO of South Korean direct-to-consumer skincare brand Norragen, calls Grace, which raised $5 million in series B funding last year from SKS Capital, the “perfect partner” for Tiny Associates. He says, “You know how difficult it is today to get a brand off the ground without attempting to financially engineer the growth. It’s always been in the back of my head that Tiny Associates needs more people, more money, more resources to get more consumers to be aware of what we are doing.”

Started in 2021 by parent company All Molecules AB, Tiny Associates’ assortment contains eight products priced from $34 to $90, including five skincare products—bestseller The Face Serum, The Face Cream, The Face Fluid, The Cleanser and The Lip Balm—and three supplements: The Before Night, The Moisture and The Antioxidant. Looking ahead, the brand has a packed pipeline of products spanning intimate care, bath care, oral care and additional supplements and skincare.

“We want to become the microbiome brand and really lean into that space to try to make a difference in categories microbiome health has not been at the forefront of like in bath care, where products can be made more health-oriented,” says Koo Hjalmarsson. “Imagine bath bombs that could be more healthy for your microbiome.”

In a statement, Abraham Cho, CEO of 33-year-old Seoul-based Grace, says, “We acquired Tiny Associates to strengthen Grace’s brand portfolio. Positioned at the intersection of biotech and the microbiome, Tiny Associates aligns with key industry growth drivers. The microbiome cosmetics market is expected to grow at a 30.21% CAGR during the period for 2023-2031…it is our intention to make Tiny Associates a global leader within this new, exciting consumer- and health-centric category. This acquisition ensures we can meet global consumer demand well into the future, and squarely aligns with our objective to become a global powerhouse, connecting consumers with world-class health products.”

In a statement as well, Cheng says, “Tiny Associates ticks all the boxes for what a future-proofed health and beauty company should be…biotech- and microbiome-based beauty products are enticing end-consumers, as they are demanding products that does a lot. We will actively utilize our global platform and distribution channels to strengthen sales capabilities and enhance Tiny Associates’s brand value in Greater China and North America.”

“We want to become the microbiome brand and really lean into that space to try to make a difference in categories microbiome health has not been at the forefront of.”

At the outset, Koo Hjalmarsson zeroed in on fashion and lifestyle stores for Tiny Associates’ distribution, thinking its chic minimalistic packaging and high-level biotechnology and microbiome concept would be a fit for them. It’s currently sold at Dover Street Parfums Market in Paris, and Koo Hjalmarsson’s thesis is being proven right at the retailer. He says its educated customer base and well-trained staff grasp Tiny Associates’ ideas and products.

Tiny Associates is now in talks to go into department stores in the United States and Asia, according to Koo Hjalmarsson. He suggests the brand’s forthcoming extended assortment and the support of its new partners will improve its chances of success in the stores.

Tiny Associates’ principal focus on the microbiome represents a bit of shift in emphasis. Although skin microbiome health was part of its philosophy from the beginning, early on it emphasized a post-natural positioning grounded in biotechnology as clean beauty was coming under fire for not being as sustainable as it often promotes and biotechnology-derived ingredients emerged as a bigger force in beauty.

Tiny Associates’ products feature biotechnology-derived ingredients like BisaboLife from ingredient company Givaudan. BisaboLife is created in a lab to be the equivalent of bisabolol, a component of chamomile. Tiny Molecules is named for the tiny molecules that comprise its products.

Koo Hjalmarsson explains the shift in emphasis is in line with consumers’ superior knowledge of the microbiome compared to their knowledge of biotechnology’s contribution to beauty. “There is a great mismatch between the capabilities of the industry today in terms of technologies for products and what consumers can digest and understand,” he says. “So, although there are plenty of opportunities with these scientific avenues, you really have to remain customer-centric and not try to push things down their throat that they are not ready for yet.”

Still, Tiny Associates isn’t abandoning its connection to biotechnology. In fact, Koo Hjalmarsson mentions the brand is developing a campaign in collaboration with other brands to raise awareness of biotech’s role in beauty.

He says, “Biotech truly can enable better products that do better things for consumers, and I think that’s the story to tell and not necessarily about the engineering end of things and sitting on white horses trying to talk about science.”