Crown Affair has closed its Series C, marking the round leader’s first investment in prestige hair care.
Stride Consumer Partners, which has invested in Patrick Ta Beauty, Odele, Skinfix and more has led the funding round of undisclosed size, joining past investors like True Beauty Ventures.
The news comes on the heels of the brand’s all-door Sephora expansion. “We’ve always been laser focused on the vision and good things take time to build. Last year was the year that people started to understand what we stand for, and we definitely saw that in terms of the business,” said chief executive officer Elaine Choi. “Last quarter, we’ve had some hitter new products like the Overnight Repair Serum, all while sustaining the sales of our continued hero products like the towel, leave-in conditioner and dry shampoo. It was the orchestration of all the seeds we’ve been planting.”
Dianna Cohen, the brand’s founder, agreed that 2025 was the inflection point, driven by a slow and steady approach to product development and brand storytelling.
“Restraint is a really important word here. In a world where it isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s jumping on a trend of what’s working for others, the core to who we are since Day One has finally come to light,” she said. As that relates to the investment, “We’ve always been mindful about having the right people around the table.”
From the Stride point of view, the brand plays to key industry dynamics like the skinification of hair while addressing newer consumption patterns.
“We’ve seen in the market this consumer movement toward looking at hair more like skin, but instead of these high-tech quick fixes, it was going toward a more holistic view of ritualistic care,” said Nicole Fourgoux, operating partner of Stride Consumer Partners. “This very different view of hair fits perfectly into the prestige channel because it requires a sophistication of formulations and ingredients and education. More consumers are starting to seek solutions that are different for their hair, and Crown Affair is the brand that is leading the movement of consumers and performing better and delivering better on this kind of demand.”
The brand also hasn’t thought about consumers in a conventional way. “There was a lot of experimentation to figure out what’d be resonating with customers, and then last year, we started to see what was working,” Choi said. “In the short term, we’re focused on improving productivity on shelf at Sephora, and there’s still an opportunity for brand awareness.”
Crown Affair loyalists are fairly coastal, which the brand thinks it can change. “One of the magic pieces of the business is that we are able to speak to so many different types of customers,” Cohen said. Given the similarities in format and usage, Cohen is seeing more shoppers enter through makeup rather than skin or hair. The brand’s next strategic mandate is to go deeper with those consumers while recruiting new ones, rather than expand too rapidly.
“The brand must be benefiting from changing consumer preferences, and here we really see that with the skinification of hair care,” said Brittany Sperling, principal at Stride. “The brand must also be truly differentiated and supported by exceptional consumer loyalty. We set the bar really high on those aspects. We want to invest in brands that will still be around in 20 years, and 50 years. We think Crown Affair will be one of those timeless brands.”
