Skyline Beauty Group Acquires LilyAna Naturals As It Builds Out Its Beauty Brand Portfolio

Skyline Beauty Group has acquired LilyAna Naturals, with plans to unlock the skincare brand’s next stage of growth through its shared back-office infrastructure and operational expertise.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Skyline purchased LilyAna, known for its strength on Amazon with bestsellers Retinol Cream and Eye Cream, from RDM Partners, an independent sponsor that acquired the brand in 2020, when Stonehenge Capital also invested. Skyline currently targets brands generating $5 million to $50 million in sales and aims to pay roughly 3X to 4X earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), according to CEO and co-founder Joe Indig.

LilyAna increases Skyline’s portfolio to six brands, including men’s skincare brand Anthony, skincare brand Alpha Skin Care, acne brand BioClarity, men’s grooming brand Shaveworks and haircare brand Pure Brazilian. The 14-year-old company, formerly called Silber Equity, has assembled the portfolio through acquisitions since transitioning from distribution to brand ownership in 2020. Indig places LilyAna between Skyline’s largest brands, Anthony and Alpha Skin Care, by sales volume.

Skyline expects to complete around two acquisitions per year. The company is zeroing in on haircare and skincare for future acquisitions. It executes asset purchases rather than stock purchases. Skyline has financed acquisitions to date with internal capital, but Indig suggests that could change as it seeks larger deals. He anticipates Skyline will one day have a portfolio of tens of brands.

“We’re looking for brands that have a strong DNA and a loyal following,” says Indig. “They’re not new. They’ve already been tested. We take brands that are very good and unlock them to new potential that they couldn’t get to on their own.” He adds, “We’re not brand flippers. We buy brands for the long term. We’re very strong operators, and we’re hands-on.”

Skyline’s model centers on rapidly improving the financial performance of the brands it acquires. The company can close deals in as little as 80 days and integrate brands within weeks, helping it to quickly turn its attention to shoring up performance. Retta Abraham, former CEO of LilyAna Naturals and partner at RDM Partners, says in a statement, “From the moment we signed the LOI, the process moved with speed and professionalism.”

Indig indicates select portfolio brands have grown more than 100% year over year, and even those that were unprofitable prior to acquisition are typically turned around within 12 to 15 months. He adds that the company’s existing portfolio is now profitable, reflecting its shared back-office structure, which eliminates duplicative overhead by consolidating functions like logistics, finance and marketing, and its focus on operating efficiency.

“We’re not brand flippers. We buy brands for the long term.”

Skyline prefers to buy brands with streamlined assortments and premium pricing, with most of its brands’ price ranges starting at about $20 and topping out at about $350. LilyAna has roughly 19 stockkeeping units, and its prices range from about $20 for individual items to more than $100 for sets.

Founded in 2014 as a digitally native brand with a manufacturing facility in the small town of Collinsville, Miss., LilyAna tested the ability of an Amazon beauty business to stretch into retail by launching at CVS and Target. It’s no longer at those retailers, and Indig attributes its exit to a pricing mismatch. He notes retail will remain part of Skyline’s strategy to grow LilyAna, but will skew more upmarket, pointing to Ulta Beauty, Nordstrom, Sephora and Space NK as potential partners.

A key priority is shifting LilyAna beyond its Amazon reliance to brand-controlled e-commerce channels, where Indig believes customers are more engaged and valuable over time. Skyline will expand LilyAna’s international e-commerce capabilities. It has built a logistics network abroad, enabling faster shipping and access to new customer bases, particularly in Europe.

Indig estimates Skyline has retained roughly six to seven members of LilyAna’s team, down from about 10 to 12 people pre-acquisition. Overall, Skyline has about 35 employees and is headquartered in Fort Lee, N.J. The company has taken over LilyAna’s manufacturing arm, which could support production across its portfolio. Skyline’s manufacturing is concentrated in the United States.

Skyline is among a burgeoning cohort of beauty brand platforms designed to accelerate growth and profitability at brands they conclude have yet to reach their full potential, whether due to limited resources, constrained distribution or lack of attention in larger portfolios. Others in the cohort include Rare Beauty Brands, AS Beauty, Fundamental Brands, Society Brands, Windsong Global and West Lane Capital Partners-backed Elevated Beauty Group.

“Some brands started in COVID, and they’ve died already. They had one good year, three good years, and that’s it, but there are strong brands with good products that are trusted and have a good position that can’t unlock new sales,” says Indig. “That’s where we like to come in.”