Is Burt’s Bees Still Sweet as Honey?
Burt’s Bees is one of those sweet start-up success stories. Boy keeps bees, boy meets girl, girl makes candles, candles evolve into a thriving, full line, all-natural cosmetic and personal care business worth millions kinda thing.
The company started in 1984 when Roxanne Quimby helped Burt Shavitz with his bees. She used the by-products of his honey business to make candles and a little extra cash. One thing led to another and before you know it Burt’s Bees is worth $925 million on the open market.
That is the price that The Clorox Company just paid to acquire Burt’s Bees. CNN just reported that The Clorox Company’s acquisition “fits with its plans to look for growth in areas aligned with consumer ‘megatrends’ in health and wellness, sustainability, convenience and a more multicultural marketplace.”
The recent sale isn’t the first time Burt’s Bees has attracted deep pocketed investors. By 2003, Mr. Shavitz had retired and Ms. Quimby sold 80% of the company to New York City-based AEA Investors for an estimated $179 million. AEA planned to turn the then $50 million “novelty” into a $500 million company. And it seems they’ve succeeded.
While Quimby sold the majority of Burt’s Bees, she kept her role as president and CEO and poured her profits into land conservation. Today, as Burt’s Bees changes hands once again, John Replogle is the president and CEO and will continue to lead the company under its new parent Clorox.
Addressing the sale to The Clorox Company, the buzz from the Burt’s Bees website maintains the same, laid back tone that harkens back to the early days of Quimby and Shavitz, though neither are still in the picture:
It’s a great opportunity to help us better deliver against our mission of making truly natural personal products available to everyone, everywhere.
This new journey gives us the energy and the resources to do even more. Not only will we be able to accelerate our growth, but this will also help us to grow the natural personal care category in general, furthering our commitment to The Greater Good.
You can keep counting on Burt’s Bees in the ways you always have. We will always stay steadfast behind our values and commitment to making the best natural personal care products with the most environmentally sensitive packaging and nature-safe manufacturing processes. And, above all, we’ll continue on with our social mission to make people’s lives better every day, naturally.
With all these ever-increasing million dollars deals orbiting what started as a candle company in a schoolhouse in Maine, the question is “Is Burt’s Bees Still Sweet as Honey?” The answer: time will tell.
Burt’s Bees uses ingredients that are at least 99% natural from beeswax and plant oils. The products contain no artificial preservatives or hazardous chemicals. The North Carolina factory offsets 100% of electricity use and has set the goal to eliminate all waste by 2020. The company is also helping to green-up the rest of the industry by working to standardize the “all-natural” label.
At present, the company makes over 150 products including lip, face, body, hair and baby care. The line is carried in nearly 30,000 retail outlets throughout the United State, UK, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan. While Clorox doesn’t bring to mind images of nature or a non-toxic world, Burt’s Bess is still doing their part to make the world of earth-friendly personal care a little sweeter. Hopefully, that won’t change.
Clorox buys Burt’s Bees for $925 million at CNN Money
