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Thirteen Lune operates as an e-commerce platform and beauty retailer dedicated to showcasing brands created by Black and Brown founders. The company offers a curated selection of skincare, makeup, hair care, and wellness products, emphasizing an inclusive approach to beauty. Its operational model involves prioritizing brands from people of color, maintaining a significant majority of BIPOC-founded brands alongside a smaller selection from ally-based companies.
The company was co-founded in December 2020 by beauty entrepreneur Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning. Grieco, leveraging her extensive background in the beauty industry, identified a critical gap in the market regarding the visibility and retail opportunities for diverse-owned beauty brands. This insight led to the creation of Thirteen Lune, aiming to provide a dedicated and supportive ecosystem for these often-marginalized founders.
Thirteen Lune primarily caters to a diverse customer base seeking ethically sourced and inclusive beauty products. The company’s overarching mission is to become the leading destination for the discovery and celebration of underrepresented beauty brands. It envisions fostering a more equitable and representative landscape within the global beauty market, championing diversity and authenticity for consumers.
Thirteen lune has raised $11.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Thirteen lune has raised $11.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Thirteen lune has raised $11.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Thirteen lune's investors include Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, First Republic Bank, WestRiver Group, Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Fearless Fund.
Thirteen lune has raised $11.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $8.0M Seed in January 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2023 | $8M Seed | Kendra Bracken Ferguson | First Republic Bank, WestRiver Group, Claire Diaz Ortiz | Announced |
| Nov 1, 2021 | $3M Seed | Fearless Fund | — | Announced |
Thirteen Lune is an e-commerce platform launched in 2020 that curates and sells beauty products from brands founded by Black, Brown, and diverse founders, serving consumers seeking inclusive, high-quality beauty for face, hair, body, and wellness.[1][2] It solves the problem of limited visibility and access for BIPOC-owned beauty brands by providing a dedicated discovery destination, debunking myths that these products only serve niche audiences, while offering brick-and-mortar and online distribution partnerships like JCPenney.[3] The company has raised $12M total funding, including $8M in its most recent round, grown to support over 150 brands (from an initial 13), and earned accolades like Beauty Inc's Newcomer of the Year in 2021.[1][3]
Thirteen Lune was founded in 2020 by Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning, who curated an initial lineup of 13 Black-owned beauty brands—hence the name—to spotlight BIPOC founders and provide them access to capital, attention, and distribution they often lacked.[1][3] Grieco, with her background in beauty entrepreneurship, and Herning aimed to create an inclusive platform featuring products for all skin tones and hair types, attracting early celebrity backing like Sean Combs, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Naomi Watts, who invested $1M just one month after launch in January 2021.[3] Pivotal early traction included rapid expansion, press recognition as a champion for diverse beauty, and partnerships that propelled growth despite industry challenges.[2][3]
Thirteen Lune rides the wave of inclusive beauty and e-commerce personalization, capitalizing on post-2020 demand for diverse representation amid broader shifts toward BIPOC entrepreneurship in consumer tech and retail.[2][3] Timing aligns with industry reckoning on equity, where platforms like it challenge giants like Sephora and Ulta by becoming the "Sephora for indie brands," fostering validation and retail partnerships for underrepresented sectors.[3][4] Market forces like rising consumer preference for authentic storytelling and data tools (e.g., Klaviyo for targeted CRM) favor its model, influencing the ecosystem by democratizing access to capital and shelves, inspiring investor boldness, and proving diverse brands deliver results-driven products.[3][4]
Under SNR Capital, Thirteen Lune is poised to invest in scalable digital tools, personalized shopping, and incubators to amplify its 150+ brands, potentially solidifying financial stability while expanding reach.[4] Trends like AI-driven personalization and sustained inclusivity pushes will shape its path, evolving it from curator to full ecosystem builder—perhaps launching more JCPenney-like expansions or venture arms. This reinforces its opening mission: not just a shop, but a catalyst uniting beauty's universal power through diverse innovation.[2][4]
