Sin City: A Dame to Kill For was DOA at the box office, but leading lady Jessica Alba is having big success off-camera.
The 33-year-old's eco-friendly baby products business, The Honest Company has raised $70 million as it readies for an initial public offering and the company is worth just under $1 billion, according toDow Jones VentureWire. The funds came from Wellington Management Company and also include some unnamed public financial companies and existing venture investors.
The movie star, a mother of two, co-founded the company — which sells everything from non-toxic diapers and wipes to cribs made with sustainable wood and nontoxic paint — along with Christopher Gavigan, Sean Kane, and Brian Lee in 2011. This year, The Honest Company's annual revenue is expected to be over $150 million, which is three times its 2013 sales, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The company has plans to expand from mostly online sales to stores. Right now, a very small portion of the products are sold at retailers, ranging from Target to Nordstrom, but their big business centers around a diaper subscription service sold online. Additionally, they follow a business model along the lines of Toms Shoes in which they give back, matching every purchase with a donation to charity.
Alba, who is married to producer Cash Warren, has said that becoming a mother to daughters Honor, 6, and Haven, 3, inspired her to start the business. While prepping for her first child, she washed some baby clothes and had an "allergic reaction to the number one laundry detergent that is geared toward babies," getting welts on her hands, Alba told the Wall Street Journal. After doing research, "I found out that there are all these toxic chemicals in products that are not only geared toward babies, which is horrifying, but in everyday cleaning products all around your house… I wanted to create the safest and healthiest environment and there wasn't one trusted brand that I could rely on."
The star of flicks from Fantastic Four to Little Fockers has turned some of her celebrity pals onto her line too. She is known for gifting her merchandise to other A-listers, showing up at the baby showers of Jessica Simpson and Gwen Stefani carrying the brand's diaper cake. (Alba and Simpson will have plenty to talk about the next time they get together as newlywed Simpson's fashion company is also a billion-dollar business.)
Alba's most recent flick, the Sin City sequel, flopped last weekend at the box office. But it's obvious she doesn't have too much to worry about. She has other things on her plate.
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