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Premium hair care brand Bread Beauty Supply has been acquired by Cost of Doing Business, a holding company founded by Olamide Olowe and Sochi Mbadugha. Olowe is the founder and chief executive of the inclusive skincare brand Topicals; Mbadugha is the brand’s president. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2020 by Maeva Heim, Bread’s distinctive minimalist packaging, playful branding (its scalp massager is called Scalp Thingy; hair ties are Bread Puffs) and championing of curly and textured hair helped the brand secure a partnership with Sephora in the US in the same year. Heim is one of few Black women to launch a beauty brand into Sephora.
Heim will stay on as chief creative officer, while CODB Holdings will lead strategic operations supported by a newly appointed executive team, advised by Olowe and Mbadugha. Bread will be expanding its Sephora presence in the US (currently it is more than 100 doors) and expand its Ulta Beauty presence to all stores in April. The brand raised seed funding in 2023 from The Fearless Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm supporting underrepresented founders, primarily women of color. In September, the fund made headlines amid a conservative-led crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives when it was forced to end its Strivers Grant Contest — a programme for Black women entrepreneurs — after being sued by conservative activist Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights.
CODB Holdings’ investors include the British rap music duo Krept + Konan, the family office of Nigerian business magnate Tunde Folawiyo and other entrepreneurs. The company also has a creative services arm founded in 2023; Olowe wrote on social media at the time that the programme was in line with her “anti-gatekeeping” philosophy. Olowe has raised over $14 million for Topicals, a prestige skincare brand popular for its targeted products; it launched in 2020. CODB Holdings and Topicals will operate as separate businesses, with CODB Holdings looking to acquire and build more businesses.
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In a statement, Olowe said the timing of acquisition was key. “At a time when DEI commitments are being rolled back, it’s critical that Black-owned businesses not only survive but thrive,” said Olowe in the statement.
“With [our] resources, Bread will continue its growth while remaining deeply connected to its vision,” said Olowe.
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