Consumer goods company Honest comes to market today, and will be on your Freetrade app as soon as it hits the secondary market.
Founded by Jessica Alba, the firm makes non-toxic household products and has raised $412.8m through its IPO, giving it a value of $1.4bn.
Alba got the idea for the company in 2008 when she broke out in a rash from detergent while washing baby clothes. She tried to find a more natural alternative but struggled, so she decided to fix the problem herself.
The result was The Honest Company, whose brands and products, labeled as natural and organic, include the likes of nappies, cleaning agents and sun cream.
It will join the Nasdaq party and use the ticker HNST but it’s not the first time Alba has considered listing the firm.
By 2015 Honest’s sales were growing and investors were hopping on board enough to prompt talk of an IPO. But then came claims the company’s products contained chemicals it had aimed to avoid.
Court dates and settlements followed, taking the wind out of the sails where a possible stock market entrance was concerned.
But, six years on, the company is touting a 28% growth in revenues to $300.5m for 2020 and is keen to emphasise its “strong financial performance”.
While some big names like Unilever and Johnson & Johnson have sidled into natural product ranges in the intervening period, Honest is hoping its pure play organic proposition will set it apart in the minds of consumers.
With the listing’s capital injection it plans to enhance its ecommerce business, which currently accounts for 55% of revenues, and bolster marketing efforts.
