Tatcha is a very well-known skincare brand to cruelty-free consumers. They are known for their creams derived from green tea, rice and algae, with some consumer favorites being their Water Cream and The Silk Canvas. Tatcha was founded ten years ago by Vicky Tsai in California with a dream to create a new Asian-oriented skincare brand that would last for 100 years.
Did Tatcha get acquired by Unilever to make their dream possible? What does this acquisition mean for Tatcha and their cruelty-free status? Keep reading to learn more.
Unilever Acquires Tatcha, Another Cruelty-Free Brand
On June 10th, 2019, Tatcha joins the hundreds of brands Unilever has acquired. It’s estimated by Allure, Bloomberg, and WWD that Unilever acquired Tatcha for $500 million dollars, and that their sales for 2019 shall reach $100 million dollars. In 2018, Tatcha achieved $70 million dollars in sales.
Why did Tatcha sell the brand to Unilever?
Tsai told Allure that their dream with Tatcha was to create a brand that would last at least 100 years. “That dream can come true in our new home with Unilever,” she said in their statement to Allure.
Nothing is confirmed on what Tsai’s role will be within the acquisition with Unilever. Tsai’s goal with the acquisition is to make Tatcha available globally for continuous brand growth and increasing profits, according to Allure. Currently, Tatcha is only available at Sephora, but the acquisition with Unilever creates massive opportunity for the brand.
What does this mean for Tatcha’s cruelty-free status?
I am extremely disappointed that Tatcha, a very well-known and profitable cruelty-free brand, has willingly decided to partner with Unilever, a non-cruelty free parent company. Based on what Tsai told Allure, the partnership is to grow the brand’s accessibility and profitability and secure those opportunities for years to come.
This is another example of a brand choosing profits over ethics. Tatcha has chosen to partner with one of the largest non-cruelty free corporations to further their brand and create new opportunities for profit growth and to secure their brand for 100 years, disregarding Unilever’s animal cruelty practices.
It is definitely a grey area on why exactly a cruelty-free brand would ever want to partner with a cruel brand. What does that really mean about their ethics as a brand? There are many opinions that could be formulated about this. On Free The Bunnies, the mission is to avoid animal cruelty in all measures, including the parent company. One animal tested on is too many, and if a brand is associated with animal testing in any way, it is considered a brand to avoid per the Free The Bunnies standard.
With Unilever’s acquisition of Tatcha, some of the profits from Tatcha’s sales will be going to Unilever as the parent company. Because purchasing Tatcha’s products will now be supporting Unilever, Tatcha is unfortunately no longer Free The Bunnies approved cruelty-free.
I understand that some consumers do not consider a brand’s parent company when deciding whether or not to support them. It is unclear at this time if Tatcha will continue their current cruelty-free practices. Until further announcements, it is safe to assume that Tatcha products are currently not being tested on animals. However, if you do not want to support Unilever, a parent company that tests on animals, then Tatcha should now be avoided.
I will continue to update this as we know more on whether or not Tatcha will continue their current cruelty-free practices.
What cruelty-free brands does Unilever now own, and why do they continue to do this?
Unilever owns hundreds of brands, many of them being cruelty-free unfortunately. My understanding of why they do this, also based on Allure’s article, is because Unilever is looking for the next big thing. They are looking for brands that are attracting a younger, secured audience, so the profitability will be long-term. Cruelty-free consumers is a large part of the young audience they are seeking. The cruelty-free market is continuously growing, and large corporations like Unilever know that. There is a lot of profitability in the cruelty-free market, so it’s not surprising that cruelty-free brands are the next big thing that Unilever wants to keep acquiring.
Here are some large cruelty-free brands that Unilever has now acquired:
- Dermalogica
- Kate Somerville
- Murad
- REN
- Living Proof
- Hourglass Cosmetics
- Dollar Shave Club
- Skinfood
- Shea Moisture
- Tatcha
What can you do to stop this trend?
Some consumers are going to be upset over this acquisition and some will not be affected. However, to stop this trend of large, non-cruelty free corporations taking over independently owned, cruelty-free brands, we need to show them that as consumers, we don’t agree with it. Show them that these actions won’t be tolerated by choosing not to support them. Show them that the only way to make profit from cruelty-free consumers is to go cruelty-free themselves.
There are still hundreds of 100% cruelty-free brands available to us that we don’t need to support cruel parent companies who want to acquire them and weezle their way into the cruelty-free market. Free The Bunnies was created to be your #1 cruelty-free resource, and only include brands that have absolutely zero ties to animal testing. Hopefully in the future Tatcha can be 100% cruelty-free again, but they will now be taken off of the cruelty-free brands list.
What are your thoughts on the acquisition? Was this the right move by Tatcha? Leave a comment below with your thoughts on Tatcha partnering with Unilever to further their brand.
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XO, Stephanie
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