How Menopause Skincare Brand Caire Beauty Is Adapting Fundraising Strategies For Today’s Challenges

In 2020, co-founders Celeste Lee and Lorrie King sought to raise $1.5 million in funding for Caire Beauty, the skincare brand addressing symptoms of menopause that they launched that year. They managed to pull in around $600,000 from family, friends and Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, which chipped in $100,000.

Now, they’re fundraising again with the goal of securing $1.5 million, but Caire has greater traction. Its sales grew 44% from 2022 to 2024, and it’s pinned down distribution partnerships, including with David’s Bridal and Nordstrom online along with an upcoming segment on QVC. But the traction is butting up against an intractable fundraising environment for early-stage beauty brands.

“The fundraising environment for CPG has always been very difficult, and the reason is that it’s gotten easier and easier for people to build a beauty product or build a consumer product,” says King, former president of SiO Beauty and senior director of global marketing at Coty. “As a female-owned business, as a woman of color-owned business, the ability to raise just drops, and it’s just a fact.”

Beauty Independent spoke with King to get an inside view of what it’s like to fundraise today. Ahead, she discusses her strategies for it, how they’ve changed from five years ago and advice she has for fellow founders looking to raise.

EmphasizE Science

In her earlier pursuit of funding, King emphasized Caire’s clean and lifestyle positioning for women over 40 years old who didn’t see themselves in beauty marketing. That’s not what’s presently piquing investor interest. Instead, it’s the brand’s scientific approach to addressing the hormonal changes that alter the skin. Caire currently displays clinical study results on its website and is slated to commission more rigorous clinical studies. King talks a ton about Caire’s patented bio-fermented peptide delivery system for hormone-related skin health.

She says, “This clarity has helped us stand out to retailers like Nordstrom, beauty editors and investors as one of the few brands with genuine scientific credentials in the pro-aging space.” She mentions it also broadens Caire’s appeal to investors beyond traditional CPG investors, which she’s increasingly meeting with.

Lean Into Networks

King is a big believer in the power of networking. As she discussed in a LinkedIn post two weeks ago, she attended an Ivy Family Office conference in New York City with Marty Secada, a classmate of hers in Wharton’s MBA program. He made a point to bring up King and Caire in conversations. On LinkedIn, King writes, “Sometimes one introduction—made with heart and intention—changes everything.”

Back in 2020, Caire was able to raise capital with the help of angel investors who are Wharton alumni along with friends and family. “Top Chef” contestant Carla Hall invested in the brand, and it received grants from Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition Prize and Pipeline Angels. King is targeting similar investors, concluding that the brand hasn’t reached the sales volume for venture capital investors or nailed the retail deals such as a Sephora entrance to entice them.

She’s leaning into her network and what she describes as “high-impact relationships” from Caire’s previous round as well as female-focused groups like CEW and Women in Retail Leadership Circle. She says, “Your network, the way that you’ve treated people along the way, the connections you’ve made, make a big difference.”

Think About Customers

Caire is exploring a community equity crowdfunding model. Its customers are excited about the prospects of backing the brand. “What’s fascinating is we’ve already received DMs and emails saying, ‘I want to invest in you guys,'” says King. “These aren’t casual customers, they’re our core community of our ideal customer: smart, discerning midlife women who’ve felt invisible to traditional beauty brands and now want to help build the future they deserve.”

The baby boom generation is the wealthiest that’s ever lived, and Caire’s resonance with boomer women made it a candidate for their money, both for purchases and investment. King says, “The older generation is definitely still looking for opportunities and places to park their cash and finding other streams of investment that will allow them to build out their wealth for their investors or for themselves.”

Produce Content

Whether it’s about fundraising or other business topics, King has been producing content to get in front of people up Caire’s alley. The LinkedIn post about networking and the brand’s fundraising garnered over 100 likes and 30 comments, above King’s average on the platform. About 10 days ago, she posted a video on LinkedIn about her frustrations with the tariffs and expects to produce more content giving inside glimpses at Caire’s business and her entrepreneurial journey. She says, “We have to be vulnerable.”

King plans to highlight her background in the beauty industry building businesses for Elizabeth Taylor and Halle Berry through an investor-facing content series called “From Icons to Innovation.” She says, “This narrative bridges heritage and innovation, helping us stand apart by showing that we’re not just founders, we’re experienced brand builders with beauty industry DNA and a billion-dollar vision.”

King advises founders to treat fundraising similar to how they introduce a product or service. She says, “You have to come up with an email campaign, you have to come up with a social media campaign, and you have to come up with a LinkedIn campaign.”

Know Your Numbers And Purpose 

For founders, knowing their brand’s numbers is table stakes, but King doesn’t think passion and authenticity should be overlooked. “Understanding your CAC, LTV and retention isn’t optional, it’s essential. When I can casually mention that we’ve grown our LTV:CAC ratio to over six to one, that single data point speaks volumes more than a glossy slide deck,” she says, adding, “Today’s savvy investors are seeking alignment with their values, not just financial returns. The right capital isn’t just fuel for your business, it’s belief in your mission.”

If an investor isn’t throwing money at Caire, King doesn’t get dismayed. “Don’t mistake a no for failure,” she says. “Usually it just means ‘not now’ or ‘not your investor.’”

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