Kering Beauté makes its first minority investment in a beauty brand, taking a stake in niche fragrance house Matiere Premiere.WHO: Caius Von Knorring founded Matiere Premiere in October 2019 with perfumer and artistic director Aurélien Guichard and general manager Cédric Meiffret. The trio set out to propose the highest-quality contemporary French perfumery to the world, launching with six scents. Currently the brand consists of 12 fragrances, including one that is exclusive to Harrods, with more launches in the pipeline. Matiere Premiere is distributed in more than 50 countries globally and almost 400 sales points.In 2023, Kering directly invested in its very own beauty division, with the creation of Kering Beauté. The entity seeks to support the group’s Houses, namely Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Pomellato, and Qeelin, as they develop their beauty businesses to become growth drivers. The beauty portfolio also includes Creed.WHY: The new capital will be used for retail expansion and to fund the opening of branded stores beginning this year in Paris with the goal of opening 20 freestanding boutiques. The brand will also build out its team and accelerate e-commerce expansion.IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "We are entering a new phase of our development," Caius von Knorring, Chief Executive Officer of Matiere Premiere, told WWD. "Matiere Premiere has been growing extremely fast."Matiere Premiere and Kering executives found common values and long-term vision, including a regard for perfumes as luxury, according to von Knorring.DETAILS:Kering Beauté made a minority investment in Matiere Premiere The financial terms were not disclosed.