by Mary Spiller
January 9, 2026
The skincare model brings in high-profile cultural figures as traders, signaling confidence in community-driven progress amid a more durable funding local weather for Black-owned companies.
Skincare startup Topicals introduced a brand new spherical of financing on Jan. 7, together with backing from WNBA standout Angel Reese and Nigerian music star Rema, including extra cultural heavyweights to its rising record of supporters. The funding spherical, first reported by Enterprise of Trend, additionally options participation from different figures in sports activities and leisure, although the corporate didn’t disclose the monetary phrases.
Based in 2020 by Olamide Olowe, Topicals has now raised greater than $22.6 million since its launch. The model has constructed a robust status for combining medical skincare with culturally resonant advertising, an strategy Olowe mentioned instantly influenced her selection of traders in Reese and Rema.
“While you consider [Topicals], you consider our advertising, storytelling and merchandise, and also you assume quite a bit about tradition,” Olowe mentioned in an interview with The Enterprise of Magnificence. “These are individuals who management tradition.”
Topicals is extensively recognized for its viral under-eye masks, priced at $22, and its $38 Pale Serum, which targets darkish spots and hyperpigmentation. Whereas lots of its merchandise tackle pores and skin considerations that disproportionately have an effect on folks with darker pores and skin tones, Olowe emphasised that the model’s viewers is way from slender. The corporate has bought a couple of million eye patches and now operates within the U.S., U.Okay., Canada, and Nigeria, with growth into France accomplished final November.
Reese beforehand highlighted the model in a January 2025 Vogue video, serving to additional amplify its attain. Rema, in the meantime, will tackle a inventive accomplice function, advising on methods to attach with youthful customers, significantly males. Further traders embody Asika, the supervisor of Nigerian-American music star Davido.
Olowe mentioned the funding spherical additionally displays a strategic response to a more difficult funding setting. “Traders are pulling again their perception in Black-owned… companies,” she mentioned. “We’re actually proud that different individuals who have capital within the tradition need [our kind of business] to develop.”
She added that many Black-founded manufacturers proceed to be boxed in as a distinct segment. “[The] capability to develop is stifled as a result of they’re seen as manufacturers which are just for Black folks,” Olowe mentioned, noting that she is “dwelling proof” that backing numerous founders can yield sturdy returns.
Past capital, Olowe mentioned the traders’ private platforms will assist make Topicals’ advertising extra environment friendly throughout an unsure financial interval. “You need to be very strategic about buying clients profitably, and driving income and lifelong worth,” she mentioned.
Wanting forward, Olowe expressed confidence in continued progress, pointing to the model’s deal with continual pores and skin circumstances and broader platform-building efforts. “We’ve widened the client base . . . in 2026, lots of our progress is about how we’re utilizing the model as a platform,” she mentioned.
Olowe has beforehand spoken about Topicals ties to Black ladies. As beforehand reported in an episode of BLACK ENTERPRISE’s Sisters Inc., Alisa Gumbs spoke with Olowe, the youngest Black lady to boost over $1 million.
Olowe mentioned that it was a strategic choice to make the most of Black ladies as traders. She said, “I wished to get as many individuals who appeared like me within the spherical; One, as a result of we need to enhance wealth in Black communities, however two, as a result of they, like myself, have handled these pores and skin circumstances . . . and may lend their experience on how you can break into an trade.”
She continued, “With a view to develop into nice, it’s a must to encompass your self with greats.”
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