Maternity brand Hatch has secured a $5 million raise that will help it build out its business, one that includes apparel and a line of clean beauty products to address women’s needs during pregnancy and postpartum.
The Series A round was led by Silas Capital, with additional investment from M3 Ventures.
Asked why the investment firm was interested in Hatch, Silas partner Brian Thorne said, “Like a lot of the next generation of consumer brands that have been built over the last few years, large categories such as maternity are tired and lack innovation. It’s the newer brands that are speaking to the new consumer, and that’s where we see the opportunity. The largest demographic is the 26-year-old millennial, which coincidentally is also the average age of first-time pregnancy across the country.”
Thorne described that demographic as a “tidal wave of millennial women hitting the next big stage in their lives. They use Glossier for makeup and Casper for mattresses. Hatch speaks to them. They’re not going to go to Destination Maternity. They have more disposable income and are working later in their pregnancy.”
According to Thorne, Silas Capital’s investment is from the firm’s growth investment fund. As part of the investment, Thorne will also be a member of the Hatch board. Silas has two funds, one for venture capital investments for which it usually takes a passive role and the other for growth investments where it invests a much larger amount and is an active investor. The firm has a special interest in what investors call the “next generation of consumer brands.” Other Silas Capital investments include Boll & Branch, Ilia Beauty, Casper, Naadam, Felix Gray, Summersalt and Function of Beauty.
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Hatch was founded by Ariane Goldman in 2011. The digitally native company now has two brick-and-mortar locations, one in New York and the other in Los Angeles. Goldman said the new funding will help it expand into new categories and continue building content and roll out more retail locations. The company last month launched pop-ups in nine cities through a partnership with Nordstrom.
Thorne spoke about the community-building events that Goldman hosts at the two store locations, and also predicted that its new clean beauty line will be another opportunity for the Hatch brand to expand.
Goldman said the beauty line, called Hatch Mama, currently has eight products that address swollen ankles, hair, face and a sheet mask for the belly. The line was created to address the concern women have regarding to what to use and put on their skin that’s non-toxic and safe for the baby.
Goldman said she got the idea for the brand when she was pregnant with her first daughter eight years ago. “I was excited, hormonal and lonely when I was looking in the stores. Women don’t have friends who are pregnant at the same time. I was looking for brands, but was surprised that [brand] was speaking to me…. I started Hatch because I wanted to say it’s okay to invest in yourself during your pregnancy. Hatch is about investing in yourself before, during and after your pregnancy.