Merit

A minimalist make-up line that grew by launching almost nothing, and let a free corduroy pouch do the advertising.

Small and new·Global·Founded 2021·Members

At a glance

Founded: January 2021, in Los Angeles, with seven make-up products.⁶¹
Founded by: Katherine Power, who had already started the media company Who What Wear, the skincare brand Versed and the wine label Avaline.⁷
Home: Los Angeles, with teams in New York, Toronto, London and Paris.²
Owned by: Founder-led and venture-backed. L Catterton led a $20 million Series A in 2021, and Semcap Beauty & Wellness bought a minority stake in July 2026.⁷⁹
What it sells: Make-up, skincare and fragrance in a deliberately short line of eighteen products.¹
Size: Well over $100 million in omnichannel retail sales in 2023, and profitable on an EBITDA basis.¹⁰³

How it got here

2020

1 of 3

Power signs Aila Morin to build and launch the brand. Production delays push the debut out of the year it was planned for.¹

TheIndustry.beauty: The Interview: Aila Morin, founding CMO at MERIT, on marking five ye… ↗

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Sources for what is above

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