Care Cosmetics was established in 1996 by owner Van Keimpema. With around 80 employees and locations in Barendrecht, Breda, and Maaseik in Belgium, the company is the largest supplier of beauty therapists in the Benelux. The company now represents 30 international top brands, such as RoC, Guinot, and their own brand Pascaud. Care currently has a customer base of more than 2,500 loyal beauty therapists and several large retailers. The company’s turnover has grown to approximately EUR 20 million on an annual basis.

After almost 25 years of entrepreneurship, Van Keimpema felt this was a logical time to attract an investment firm. Van Keimpema: “In times of crisis, people cut back on cars and holidays, but the spending on personal rises rather than declines. We have grown incredibly fast in recent times, and we are now at a crossroads with several strategic choices to achieve additional growth faster.”

3d investors

A new partner was found in 3d investors, family-run investment firm with a specialisation aimed at companies with international ambitions. This Belgian long-term investor co-owns, among others, Studio 100, Pauwels Consulting (including Developers.NL and Bruggenbouwers), and Ormit. Investment Director Nicolas Sneyers on joining Care Cosmetics: “In a general sense, we see a market on the verge of further consolidation, internationalisation, and digitisation. Our expertise in this field, Care’s excellent reputation, and the cultural fit seem like the right match. It is now up to us and the team at Care to sort out the right order.”

Van Keimpema adds that further broadening and deepening of the product range could be considered: “There are various trends towards men’s cosmetics and social responsibility, such as sustainable brands. We could also add extra product groups, such as more own brands or related beauty products. Finally, we also want to develop the Belgian market further. Within three years, we want to be Belgian’s number 1 too, and have achieved a rollout in Germany. The first commitments from brands are already a fact!”

Acquisition consultant Jan Dijkmans from Marktlink remarks there was a lot of interest from the market, in spite of COVID-19: “We noticed a high level of general interest from private equity in well-positioned companies with high-end consumer products. Care Cosmetics was also the subject of some serious interest in this proposition from various investment companies at home and abroad. Lately, the trend is that merely the largest bag of money is no longer the be-all and end-all for entrepreneurs. They are looking for a party to embark on the best possible adventure.”

In the new structure, Duco van Keimpema will remain involved in Care Cosmetics as a shareholder. Operationally, his role will be focused more on matters such as strategy development, acquisitions, and internationalisation. “Our customers and brands will not notice much about the new situation. At most, the fact that we can be even more true to our ‘No Limits’ slogan now we have 3d investors on board.”