K-Beauty brand Yepoda secures series B funding round led by Verlinvest
- New financing will be used to drive the brand’s retail expansion and accelerate global footprint
Berlin, March 2025 – Yepoda, the leading K-Beauty brand known for combining Korean skincare innovations with clean and sustainable formulations, has successfully closed its Series B funding round. The round is led by Verlinvest, the global, consumer-focused, evergreen investment firm, with continued participation from existing investors V3 Ventures and JamJar Investments.
The new funding will be used to accelerate Yepoda’s growth, especially the brand’s recent Europe-wide roll-out into Sephora, and to support its launch into the U.S. while continuing to drive Yepoda’s industry-leading focus on product innovation. “We are excited to welcome Verlinvest as our investor in this next phase of growth. Their experience in growing strong, sustainable consumer brands is exactly the support Yepoda needs to scale our impact and to make high-quality, effective, and fun K-Beauty more accessible to customers worldwide,” said Sander Joonyoung van Bladel, Co-founder & CEO of Yepoda.
Since its founding in 2020, Yepoda has become one of the leading K-Beauty brands in the Western market. The company has grown to more than €65m in revenue in 2024 with more than 1 million loyal customers across France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Germany, achieving 120%+ YoY profitable growth.
Verlinvest, known for backing iconic and category-defining consumer brands, recognizes Yepoda’s potential to become a global leader in the beauty industry. Ben Black, of Verlinvest, commented: “We are delighted to be backing Sander and Veronika in accelerating Yepoda’s growth internationally and bringing K-Beauty to a wider audience. We are excited to welcome Yepoda to our growing beauty portfolio, and continue the relationship alongside Verlinvest’s venture fund, V3 Ventures, and our partners at JamJar Investments.”
Following a successful launch in the U.S. at the end of 2024, the brand is set to further expand its footprint and deepen its retail partnerships, including its new collaboration with Sephora which is rolling out in March 2025 to more than 100 stores in Europe. This list includes some of Sephora’s most prestigious European flagship stores such as the location on Champs-Elysées in Paris, France, and on Corso Vittorio
Emanuele in Milan, Italy. As the brand continues to scale, Yepoda is also advised by Chris Good, former Estée Lauder Group President.
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About Yepoda
In 2020, the K-Beauty brand Yepoda was founded by Sander Joonyoung van Bladel and Veronika Strotmann, with the mission of introducing cutting-edge K-Beauty innovations to the Western market. What sets Yepoda’s formulations apart is combining Korean beauty innovations with a strong commitment to the brand’s values. All products of the clean beauty brand are developed and made in Korea, based on the best natural and active ingredients and have a strong commitment to sustainability. All Yepoda skincare products are vegan, cruelty-free, and sustainably packaged. Furthermore, 1% of the company’s revenue is donated to selected environmental initiatives via a partnership with 1% for the Planet.
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