Magma Partners invests in Mexico’s professional beauty industry with Círculo de Belleza

September 15, 2021

February 23, 2021

Círculo de Belleza is an online B2B marketplace that enables beauty salons in Mexico to find products and tools at a competitive price. Founded by Maribel Dominguez in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the startup is a response to the lack of distribution models for brands to supply both big clients and small independent salons (long-tail distributors). 

“The big brands were very tied to their established salons/distributors that could buy big minimum amounts. On the other hand, the small, independent salons couldn't meet all the restrictions that the brands were asking for,” explained Dominguez.

The opportunity in Mexico alone represents 190,000 salons nationwide, with big brands only serving around 3,000 clients. 

With Círculo de Belleza, beauty professionals can buy products from different brands without having to make a large minimum purchase or sign any type of commercial agreement, which is usually not possible with big brands. Clients can also order through WhatsApp or from the website, and also have the option to pay with cash on delivery.

Círculo de Belleza’s first supplier was L’oréal, which, through network effects, has attracted the top 35% of the brands in the market to showcase their products on the platform. Going forward, the company aims to include more affordable brands and add more product categories, including nail products and makeup.

Currently, the startup is focusing on consolidating its business model in Mexico before expanding throughout the rest of Latin America. 

We recently led a Seed round in Círculo de Belleza and are very excited to support Maribel Dominguez and her team on their mission to bring top-quality products to beauty professionals in Latin America and help brands attend to a segment of the market that has often been overlooked.