Company: Mielle Organics
Title:Â Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Industry: Consumer products
Hometown:Â Merrillville, Indiana
Notable in 2023: Sold company to Procter & Gamble in largest-ever acquisition for a Black female beauty founder, and stayed on as CEO.
Last year capped a banner year for Mielle Organics. The company, which was co-founded by CEO Monique Rodriguez and her husband, COO Melvin Rodriguez, was purchased by Procter & Gamble. This deal would expand the reach of the company, allowing it to serve Black and Brown customers who had their hair needs ignored by many mainstream beauty conglomerates.
It also marked the largest acquisition of a beauty brand owned by a Black female founder.
"From the moment we stepped into P&G, we saw a diverse team of leaders who share our values and vision for innovation, education and community empowerment, including several Black leaders who play a key role in the hair care and beauty businesses," Rodriguez said in a press release.
The deal also included a provision where both P&G and Mielle would donate $10 million to the non-profit Mielle Cares, which provides educational and economic opportunities in Black and Brown communities.
"It's not about selling out, it's about selling up in order to grow and scale your company … in order to take that wealth and give back to the community," Rodriguez told CNBC.
When I left my nursing career to become CEO of a company, I had to transform my way of thinking and develop new habits. I was walking into a role of leadership – I never thought I'd be leading so many people. I had to shift my calling and mindset to understand that this business and my calling was bigger than me, and bigger than haircare.Monique RodriguezFounder & Chief Executive Officer, Mielle Organics
Mielle Organics was founded in 2014 with the idea of creating products with natural ingredients for textured hair types. It now has 3.5 million customers and accounts for 10 percent of the textured hair beauty industry.
The previous three years before the acquisition, Mielle had raised over $100 million in funding from private equity firm Berkshire Partners. According to McKinsey, Black beauty brands only raise a median of $13 million in venture capital, compared to the average $20 million that non-Black brands raise. However, the median revenue of a Black beauty brand is 89 times higher than a non-Black beauty brand.
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