Who Is Niv Della
Niv Della Beauty, founded by Nina Dizon in 2015, is a homegrown cosmetic company dedicated to delivering affordable and inclusive products to Filipinos. The company encompasses two brands: Colourette, which specializes in cosmetics, and Fresh Formula, which focuses on self-care. Niv Della Beauty is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality beauty and self-care products made for the Filipino lifestyle, Filipino skin tones, and the Philippine climate.
Why We Invested
The Founder: When we first met Nina, it was immediately evident that she was deeply passionate about her company. Her investment of time, capital, and effort demonstrated her belief in the company's vision. This passion has been a driving force behind her success, apparent in the remarkable growth of Colourette and Fresh Formula. Nina’s dedication and work ethic have been instrumental in shaping the brand into what it is today. In addition to her hard work, Nina’s ability to connect with her customers is what sets her apart. Nina regularly engages with her two million social media followers through Instagram, Tiktok, and livestream broadcasts by sharing snippets of her daily life, business tips, and everything in between. Through her broadcast channel, Nina shares real-time life lessons, aiming to inspire and educate her followers beyond the confines of her brand. She often includes her followers in product development decisions as well, thereby making her community resonate even more with the brand. Nina’s success in humanizing her brands has not only brought immense success to them but it also paved the way for Colourette and Fresh Formula’s cult following and brand love.
The Market: The company was truly a pioneer in the local cosmetic industry. Before it, cosmetic brands in the Philippines were either outdated or unaffordable for the larger Filipino population. While international celebrity brands have found success abroad, they have struggled to penetrate the Philippine market due to their inability to cater to local needs in terms of product, variety, and formulation. The startup was able to fill this gap by creating affordable and inclusive products. After the pandemic, there was a clear surge of locally founded celebrity brands, making the market more saturated than it once was. Despite the increased saturation of the beauty market however, the company distinguished itself by maintaining high-quality standards, keeping a budget-friendly price point, and engaging the community that Nina had put much time and effort into building over the years.
The Company: The startup’s journey to success has been shaped by several key factors. Primarily, the brand identified and addressed a significant gap in the Filipino beauty market with its extensive shade range, affordable pricing, and formulations tailored to work with Filipino skin and daily activities. Niv Della’s colour cosmetic line, Colourette, offers 20 distinct shades of their First Base skin tint and 25 shades of Colourtint, of which she has sold millions of units. Moreover, the formulation of all Colourette products is specifically designed to withstand the Philippines' high humidity, making it practical and effective for their target audience. Niv Della also ensures the quality of their products by going through rigorous product development that in some occasions can take one to two years to perfect.
They also have a strong social media presence illustrating their ability to relate and engage their customers. Between Fresh Formula and Colourette, they have over 700,000 followers across social media platforms. Recently, their That Peach campaign reached over 2,000,000 views in 24 hours. Their ability to excel in both marketing and product quality has helped them consistently top local and regional beauty rankings on leading platforms such as Lazada and Shopee.
Foxmont's Impact
At Foxmont, we are proud to be part of Niv Della's growth story. From the very beginning, Nina was transparent about her strengths and areas where she needed support. She excelled in product development and marketing but recognized that prior to Foxmont, she had run her company similar to that of a family business and was very eager to professionalize it. Some of the initiatives we worked on with Nina included restructuring her organization, supporting financial operations and audits, finding and onboarding a new COO, introducing trade financing partners, and helping further fundraise with the right strategic investors. This also led to Nina closing her most recent raise with DSG Consumer Partners.
“Foxmont has been instrumental in both my professional development as an entrepreneur and the growth of my business. They operate like our partners whom we can call anytime for help. Coming from single-handedly establishing my brands Colourette and Fresh Formula, it definitely is refreshing and reassuring to know that now I have people around me who can help drive my business.”
Nina Dizon, CEO & Founder
About The Round
Colourette has raised USD 2 million in regional funding from DSG Consumer Partners, Foxmont Capital Partners, and notable angel investors, being the first makeup brand in the Philippine beauty industry to secure funding from a leading consumer VC. The funds will be used to hire key talent that can propel their strategic initiatives forward. Product development efforts will also be amplified, along with the launch of more campaigns, including bigger beauty events, interactive social media campaigns, and exciting collaborations.
Check their products out at: https://colourette.ph/