Hakkawise Grows Beauty And Wellness Portfolio With Men’s Skincare Brand Wolf Project

Hakkawise, an acquirer and builder of e-commerce brands, has purchased Wolf Project for an undisclosed price.

The deal comes as the men’s skincare brand is preparing to launch online at Target by the second quarter this year, with the goal of subsequently entering the big-box chain’s stores, and growing its business at Nordstrom, where it bowed in 20 locations in 2022 and has since doubled its footprint. At Hakkawise, which was founded three years ago by serial investor Yiu Yin Yau and Michael Lan, who formerly guided Amazon’s private brands in Europe, it joins a portfolio with body care brand Object Beauty, e-tailer The Kind Store, supplement line Physis Nutrition and oral care brand Happier.

“The trigger of this whole relationship is the brand needed bigger shoulders. It’s a transformational transaction because it secures a good launch for Target, and it secures a very healthy future in Nordstrom,” says Wolf Project founder Francesco Urso. “I really trust Michael and Yiu Yin’s expertise. I’ve seen what they’re capable of, and I’ve seen how much they care about the brand. They know it takes time to build a brand in retail in the U.S., a very competitive market.”

Yau says, “Together with other distribution channels we have and our expertise, especially on the e-commerce side, we can really elevate Wolf Project to the next level into more of a holistic go-to men’s health and wellness brand, expanding it beyond the really good skincare range it has right now.”

Urso, ex-brand director for Procter & Gamble-owned Pantene in China, started Wolf Project in 2019 after he noticed gender norms shifting and the increasing willingness of men, including himself, to pick up skincare products. He also detected a gap in the men’s skincare sector for a mid-tier priced brand that sat between prestige brands like Kiehl’s and Jack Black and mass-market brands like Dove and Nivea. Today, Wolf Project sells roughly seven products priced primarily from $10 to $30.

Sheet masks were the brand’s hero product out of the gate. At the time, they were taking off for women, and Urso felt a version with masculine branding (Wolf Project’s signature color is black) could gain traction. In 2022, the brand introduced Energizing Eye Roller, an under-eye brightener with a rolling ball applicator. The roller is now by far the brand’s bestseller and ranks in Amazon’s top 10 eye products for men and women.

“It’s a transformational transaction because it secures a good launch for Target.”

“Not every man out there who is looking for a facial skincare solution will go straight to face masks because it’s something which isn’t necessarily status quo in their routine,” explains Lan. “But the eye roller is a steppingstone to that, and it’s really easy to adopt.”

Wolf Project hopped on Amazon early in its existence and has experimented with various brick-and-mortar opportunities as retailers sorted through how to get a piece of a men’s skincare category on the upswing. Market research firm Precedence Research estimates the global men’s skincare market will accelerate at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% to reach $29.61 billion by 2033, up from $16 billion in 2023. The brand was previously in the drugstore channel in 2,000 CVS doors and the department store channel at Manor.

Wolf Project’s website and Amazon currently constitute the overwhelming majority of its sales—and Hakkawise believes there’s still substantial room to further scale e-commerce sales by tapping into its data prowess and realizing synergies across its online health and wellness presence alongside physical distribution. The United States is the brand’s biggest market, and it’s begun to test the waters in European markets.

Wolf Project’s core customers are men 35-years-old and above conscious of what they put on and in their bodies. Supplements are a possible future assortment extension for it as it explores an array of products attractive to its target demographic. “Aesthetics are growing for men, and we’re part of the trend, and it’s not stopping,” says Urso. “The category is growing, and more shelf space will be dedicated to men. Now, are we ready for makeup? Maybe not, but we are definitely taking more care.”

“More shelf space will be dedicated to men.”

Hakkawise is based in London, and Wolf Project is based in Geneva, but both have remote teams. Urso will remain an advisor to Hakkawise, and he says one to two members of Wolf Project’s team have stayed on board as the brand has transitioned to Hakkawise’s control. Hakkawise has about 15 employees. As it integrates brands, the company values keeping employees that preceded its involvement with a deep understanding of them, according to Lan.

Before Hakkawise’s acquisition of Wolf Project, the brand raised $4 million in funding across several rounds. Ace & Co., former Richemont CEO Richard Lepeu, Ralph Lauren president, chief lifestyle and licensing officer Guillaume Tardy and Hottinger AG CEO Jean-Conrad Hottinger were among its investors. Declining to divulge the exact amount Hakkawise has raised, Yau reports it has “millions” of dollars in funding from family offices and private investors. It plans to buy two to three additional companies this year.

Yau points to sustainable personal care, clean cosmetics, supplements and baby care as areas Hakkawise is interested in for potential deals. It’s particularly drawn to brands that show they have strong subscription bases and customer retention rates. Once those are in place, the company is confident it can supercharge sales. At Happier, it’s quickly multiplied sales 3X by enlarging its online and offline distribution in Starwood Hotels, airplanes and pharmacies.

For his fellow brand founders, Urso hopes Wolf Project’s exit can provide an inspirational example of a satisfying hard-fought outcome. “The world for founders is tough out there, but there are still good transactions happening and there are still good investors that are long-term oriented, not just finance-oriented, the sharks,” he says. “I feel very lucky that we were able to bring this transaction to fruition. You go through hell and beyond, but then it does make sense at the end of the day.”