April 19, 2023 -- NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TruArc Partners, a private equity firm focused on the middle-market, announced today that it has invested in Trademark Cosmetics, Inc. (“TCI”) alongside Founder and President David Ryngler. TCI is a leading formulator and manufacturer of beauty and personal care products, partnering with a variety of established and emerging brands.
Ryngler founded TCI in 1994 and has grown the company alongside General Manager Eko Handoko for more than 20 years. In 2011, TCI moved into a purpose-built 160,000 square foot facility in Riverside, CA. TCI’s state-of-the-art production facility includes its in-house R&D lab and an extensive variety of compounding and filling capabilities across several packaging formats ranging from bottles and jars to tubes. Today, TCI provides extensive and innovative custom formulation and complex manufacturing capabilities for a wide range of products in a variety of beauty and personal care categories, including leading expertise in clean and natural formulations. TruArc Partners will work with TCI to pursue continued growth, and support brand partner success, through investing in organic initiatives and targeting strategic M&A.
“Building TCI has been an exciting journey and I am thrilled to be partnering with TruArc. The addition of TruArc’s expertise and capital will enable us to continue to enhance the service and capabilities that we provide to our customers,” said Ryngler.
Alongside TruArc’s investment, TCI has named Kristopher Dover as CEO. In this role, Dover will oversee TCI’s expansion. Dover has spent over 30 years in manufacturing and operations focused on consumer end markets. He has deep expertise in operations as well as mergers and acquisitions and subsequent business integrations.
“The combination of TCI’s formulation and manufacturing expertise, alongside its strong customer-service orientation, have been instrumental in its growth and will serve as the fundamental driver for continued improvement and expansion going forward,” said Dover. “Working closely with Eko, and with support from TruArc, we believe we will successfully scale TCI to become a best-in-class partner to growth-oriented brands.”
Ryngler will remain with TCI as an investor and Board member. Handoko will continue in his role as General Manager. Don Sturdivant, an Operating Partner at TruArc, will join the Board of Directors as Non-Executive Chairman. Jeffrey Nodland, former CEO of KIK Custom Products, will also join the Board of Directors. Sturdivant and Dover previously worked together at Graphic Packaging and Altivity Packaging, where Dover ran several different businesses reporting into Sturdivant.
“At TruArc, we are focused on investing in well-positioned platforms that are capable of transformational growth. We think TCI is a well-positioned business that is poised to scale with our planned investments,” said Gerald Sheehan, Partner at TruArc. “We are equally excited to bring our capital and M&A expertise to execute a focused acquisition strategy that will continue to scale our operation in California and expand the platform nationally. Our goal is to further enhance TCI’s position as the go-to partner for high growth brands.”
Guggenheim Securities, LLC served as financial advisor to TruArc Partners, and American Discovery Capital served as financial advisor to TCI. Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted as legal counsel to TruArc Partners and Stubbs Alderton & Markiles acted as legal counsel to TCI.
About TCI
Located in Riverside, CA, TCI is a leading contract manufacturer of beauty and personal care products, partnering with a variety of established and emerging brands. The Company provides product development, material sourcing, and filling services with a focus on unique formulation capabilities and packaging technologies requiring significant technical expertise. With a foundation rooted in innovation and comprehensive manufacturing capabilities, the Company draws on its wide variety of specialized equipment to create customized solutions aligned with a brand’s vision.
About TruArc Partners
TruArc Partners is a private equity firm focused on middle-market control investments. TruArc focuses on companies in attractive sub-sectors across specialty manufacturing and business services. The TruArc investment team collaborates with its operating partners and portfolio management teams to create value through a transformational growth strategy led by organic or acquisition-driven growth. To learn more about TruArc visit www.truarcpartners.com.
Disclosure: All endorsements and/or testimonials are from current or former portfolio company executives about TruArc’s ability to provide operational support to their companies. In certain cases, the executives are investors or co-investors in TruArc’s vehicles. The executives have not been paid, directly or indirectly, for their testimonial or endorsement but as an investor or co-investor they are inherently incentivized to endorse TruArc.
SOURCE: Businesswire