TSG Consumer takes majority stake in Saltair, valuing the body care brand at the top of its category
Saltair, the body care label that has spent the better part of three years turning shower routines into content, has a new majority owner.
TSG Consumer, the San Francisco private equity house behind e.l.f. Cosmetics, IT Cosmetics, and Summer Fridays, has agreed to buy control of the brand from its founding investors.
The deal puts a firm private equity floor under one of beauty’s most talked-about newcomers.
Financial terms were not disclosed on 30 July, when the transaction was announced, but reporting by Women’s Wear Daily and Puck News pegs Saltair’s 2026 sales at around $150m, with EBITDA margins of roughly 30%. In a beauty M&A market where buyers have grown fussy and sellers have shelved processes, a body care brand generating $150m in revenue at 30% margins is the kind of asset worth fighting for.
Prelude Growth Partners is taking a full exit. So is The Center, the Ben Bennett-founded accelerator that co-created Saltair with model and entrepreneur Iskra Lawrence in January 2022 and has spent the past four years turning it into one of the most credible independent stories in body care. This is TSG’s second deal with The Center after acquiring fragrance brand PHLUR last year.
Colin Welch, Managing Director and Head of New York at TSG, made clear that body care is where the firm sees the most compelling growth. “Body care is one of the most exciting categories in beauty right now, and Saltair stands out for elevating the everyday routine with effective formulations that have driven real consumer demand and loyalty,” he said.
He isn’t wrong about the tailwind. According to Circana’s Q1 2026 US beauty report published in May, prestige retail beauty sales grew 6% to $8.1bn in the quarter. Mass retail rose 7% to $18.1bn, with body lotion and wash flagged by Circana global beauty industry adviser Larissa Jensen as among the categories benefiting from consumers “prioritising self-care, elevated routines, and wellness driven products.” Circana also noted that beauty is now the leading category on TikTok Shop, capturing 20% of its dollar spending in Q1 2026. Priced between $12 and $26, the brand sits at the intersection of premium formulation and mass accessibility.
Saltair went nationwide at Target in 2023, where its $14 Serum Body Washes have repeatedly sold out and where, according to Puck News, most of the brand’s revenue is now generated. In February 2025, it rolled out across more than 1,400 Ulta Beauty stores, with its Body Oils sold on an exclusive basis. Earlier this year it made its international debut at Space NK in London, the retailer that Lawrence has said first sparked her interest in beauty as a teenager. TikTok Shop, meanwhile, has become one of the brand’s most productive channels, with close to 875,000 units sold to a follower base of over 152,000.
Ahead of the sale, The Center spent the past year professionalising the business, installing Rachel Shelowitz as chief executive and bringing in former Murad executive Erin Sale as chief marketing officer. Raymond James was retained to run the process around a month before the deal was announced.
Shelowitz, who will stay on to lead the business, said TSG had been the right fit. “From day one, this team has built Saltair into one of the most desired names in body care — through product quality, real community loyalty, and a brand people genuinely want to be part of,” she said. “Partnering with TSG marks the next chapter: they share our ambition and bring the experience to propel this business to new heights.”
Lawrence is stepping into a newly created role as Chief Community Advocate, freeing her from day-to-day operations while keeping her at the front of the brand’s public identity. “We created Saltair to make body care feel more elevated, more joyful, and more personal,” she said. “That vision has resonated deeply with our community, and we’re so grateful to The Center and Prelude Growth Partners for believing in the brand early and supporting us along the way.”
For Bennett, the sale extends a streak few beauty incubators have matched. The Center has now delivered PHLUR to TSG in 2025, Naturium to e.l.f. Beauty in 2023, and now Saltair, all within a five-year window. Bennett said Saltair’s trajectory was “a direct result of Iskra and the team’s vision and execution” and that the incubator was “glad to see the brand move into this next chapter with a partner who can match that ambition.”