Unilever, the $130 billion dollar multinational consumer goods company, is buying Dollar Shave Club, the male grooming brand that co-founder Michael Dubin started from his apartment in 2012. According to Fortune, the corporation is buying the startup for $1 billion in cash.
The consumer products giant said Dollar Shave Club, which has expanded from selling razors online for $1 apiece to offering products including bathroom wipes called “One Wipe Charlies,” would bring “a unique male grooming perspective” to its personal care category.
Dollar Shave Club had a turnover of $152 million in 2015 and was on track to turn over more than $200 million in 2016, according to Unilever’s statement, which did not put a value on the transaction. It is known that Dollar Shave Club had previously raised more than $160 million in venture capital funding.
Dollar Shave Club shot to online fame in 2012 with a viral video that featured Dubin, a giant teddy bear and the tag line “Our blades are ******* great.”
Dubin later told CNBC that the video cost just $4,500 to make but was so successful that the company ran out of inventory without hours of it appearing on YouTube.
A second video, titled “Let’s talk about #2” was released to promote the launch of “One Wipe Charlies,” which are effectively baby wipes designed for men.
Dubin, who started the company with a friend’s father, Mark Levine, will remain as CEO of Dollar Shave Club when it joins Unilever. He said in a statement that the company couldn’t be happier with the deal.
“We have long admired Unilever’s purpose-driven business leadership and its category expertise is unmatched,” he said. “We are excited to be part of the family.”
Dollar Shave Club was one of CNBC’s Disruptor 50 in 2015.
For more business and entrepreneurship trends, check our entrepreneurship section and subscribe to our weekly newsletters.
