After its performance in the fashion and the furniture design industries, the “Made in Italy” Fund makes its move on the cosmetics industry buying the promising brand Rouji.

Its declared intention is to improve diversification and to do so the Made in Italy Fund, a private equity fund promoted by Quadrivio & Pambianco, is starting to stake its money on the cosmetics brands. Just one year ago they made their debut in fashion by acquiring the majority of Palladium Moda, the company that owns the “120% Lino” clothing brand. After that, in October 2019, they entered the design sector with the acquisition of 52% of the share capital of Mohd, a Sicilian company active in the sector of design and distribution of high-end furnishings. And next in line is a rapidly growing cosmetics company: Rougj – rougji.com

The “Made in Italy” fund has already signed an investment agreement to enter the capital of Rougj, an Italian company specialized in the formulation, production, and distribution of high-end products intended for the pharmacy channel.

A slide from the 'Made in Italy Fund' presentation

The operation has the main objective of supporting the development of the company internationally, with a focus on strategic markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and China. Furthermore, they intend to position the brand at an even higher level, thanks to targeted marketing strategies, especially in the digital field.

Antonio Pirillo, CEO of Rougj, said: ”We want to bring Rougj among the great brands of cosmetics within the pharmacy channel: this is our ambition. Competition with multinationals has been and continues to be a daily challenge for us. We are confident that, with the determination and enthusiasm that has always distinguished us and with the support of Quadrivio & Pambianco, we will be able to achieve these goals, and at the same time we will strengthen the brand’s positioning.”

Founded in Trieste in 1987 by Antonio Russo (who left the company at the end of 2017) and Marco Giraldi (Commercial Director), Rougj offers lines for face, body and hair care, as well as sun protection products and make-up, all strictly made with natural ingredients and not tested on animals.

The company will close 2019 with a turnover of over 15 million euros, of which 80% coming from the Italian market; the main foreign markets are France and Spain; EBITDA will exceed 3 million euros (20% of turnover). Currently, the brand is present in Italy with at least one product line in approximately 5,300 pharmacies.

From these numbers, it is easy to understand why the company needs to develop in many more international markets in the future and this can happen only with dedicated strategy and relevant investments that must come from some new partners. It is a relatively common situation for many cosmetics brands all over Europe who have great potential, valuable products, sometimes even well-developed R&D and modern production facilities, but do not have the financial resources to challenge bigger and multinational companies and effectively communicate their brands in the worldwide arena. That is why new capitals, coming from groups or angels investors, are appearing on the scene looking for good deals in which invest their capitals.