What BG Ventures does

BG Ventures (株式会社BGベンチャーズ) is a Japan-based corporate venture capital firm established in November 2018 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Beauty Garage Group, a Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section-listed professional beauty supply distributor. The firm operates a single investment vehicle, BG Venture Fund 1 (BGベンチャーファンド第1号投資事業組合), with a total fund size of ¥1.0bn. Its investment thesis is concentrated on innovative startups in the Japanese beauty industry and salon business, with portfolio companies including Kado (professional hair tools), NOIN, HAIRCAMP, Jocy, Resusty, and the Singapore-based A'alda Pte Ltd.

The firm has executed eight disclosed investments between July 2019 and February 2025. Its core proposition is not capital alone but the combination of minority equity investment with portfolio company access to Beauty Garage Group's B2B distribution channels, IT infrastructure, and marketing expertise. The most concrete demonstration of this integration is the March 2021 co-developed Kado × Beauty Garage professional straightening hair iron, which shows that BG Ventures' value-add can extend into joint product commercialization with the parent's brand portfolio.

The business model is a conventional CVC structure: BG Ventures earns management fees on the ¥1.0bn committed fund capital and, in principle, carried interest from portfolio exits, although no exits are disclosed. The firm does not develop proprietary technology, sell software products, or operate consumer-facing services. Operating geographies are primarily Japan, with one disclosed cross-border investment in Singapore.

Name

BG Ventures

Legal name

株式会社BGベンチャーズ

Website

https://bgventures.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

BG Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Tokyo-listed Beauty Garage Group, managing a ¥1.0bn fund that invests in Japanese beauty and salon-related startups, offering portfolio companies capital alongside access to the parent's B2B distribution network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Venture Capital

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategic Real Assets & Infrastructure Venture Investing (FSANAHAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

Keywords

• Corporate venture capital
• Beauty industry investment
• Startup equity funding
• Venture capital fund
• Salon sector investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Setagaya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: BG Ventures operates as a corporate venture capital firm under Beauty Garage Group, managing investment funds that provide capital to innovative beauty and salon-related startup companies. Revenue is generated through fund management fees and carried interest from portfolio company exits.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

BG Ventures operates the BG Venture Fund 1, a corporate venture capital fund of 1 billion yen (10億円) that provides equity investments and strategic support to innovative startup companies in the beauty and salon business sector. The firm takes minority positions in portfolio companies and supplements capital with access to Beauty Garage Group's distribution network, IT infrastructure, and industry expertise.

Product overview

BG Ventures operates as a corporate venture capital firm within the Beauty Garage Group. The company manages a single investment fund (BG Venture Fund 1 with 1 billion yen in total capital) that makes strategic equity investments in innovative startup companies, primarily in the beauty industry and salon business sector. The fund takes minority positions and provides operational support to help portfolio companies grow.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BG Venture Fund 1 (BGベンチャーファンド第1号投資事業組合) The principal corporate venture capital fund operated by BG Ventures with a total fund size of 1 billion yen (10億円). It makes minority equity investments in innovative startups developing solutions for the beauty industry and salon business, offering portfolio companies capital plus strategic access to Beauty Garage Group's distribution, IT, and marketing capabilities.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• カドー (CADO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2021CADO and Beauty Garage co-developed their first product — a professional straightening iron specialized for hair reduction — marking BG Ventures' portfolio company involvement in product co-development with the Beauty Garage Group.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• L'Oréal BOLD (Business Opportunities for L'Oréal Development): L'Oréal's CVC and venture arm invests minority stakes in beauty-tech and emerging beauty brands, with strategic support from the world's largest beauty company. Like BG Ventures, BOLD couples capital with a corporate parent's distribution and R&D capabilities, making it the closest functional analog among global CVCs.
• L Catterton: L Catterton is the largest consumer-focused private equity firm globally with deep beauty sector exposure. It is highly comparable to BG Ventures as both deploy capital into beauty brands and beauty-tech companies with strategic operating support, although L Catterton operates at significantly larger fund scale and a global mandate.
• Henkel Ventures (Henkel Beauty / Consumer): Henkel Ventures is the CVC arm of Henkel, focused on beauty, personal care, and consumer-tech startups. Like BG Ventures, it offers portfolio companies strategic access to a major beauty/consumer parent's distribution and capabilities, making it a structurally comparable CVC peer.
• Unilever Ventures: Unilever Ventures is the CVC arm of Unilever focused on beauty, personal care, and consumer-tech startups. It mirrors BG Ventures' structure — a strategic corporate fund offering portfolio companies distribution, R&D, and brand-building support — and competes for the same founder pool, though at much larger scale and global reach.

Regional players

• Shiseido (Shiseido Venture Partners): Shiseido operates venture and incubation activities investing in beauty-tech and innovation startups, particularly in Japan and Asia. As a Japan-headquartered global beauty major with CVC-style activity, it is one of the most direct regional comparables to BG Ventures and competes for the same Japanese beauty founder pool.
• Pola Orbis Holdings: Pola Orbis Holdings is a major Japanese beauty conglomerate with a long history of incubating and investing in innovative beauty brands and startups in Japan. It is comparable to BG Ventures as a Japan-based beauty parent operating a portfolio of strategic beauty investments with an explicit innovation mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Kao Corporation (CVC/innovation activities): Kao is a major Japanese consumer products company with active corporate venture and open-innovation programs investing in beauty, wellness, and consumer-tech startups. It overlaps with BG Ventures on thesis (beauty-adjacent consumer innovation in Japan) and competes for similar Japanese founders.
• Estée Lauder Companies (Strategic Investments / New Incubation Ventures): Estée Lauder operates a strategic investment and incubation program targeting emerging beauty brands and beauty-tech startups. As a top-tier global beauty incumbent with CVC-style investing, it is comparable to BG Ventures in thesis and in coupling capital with a major beauty parent's commercial infrastructure.
• Johnson & Johnson Innovation: JJI is the innovation and venture arm of J&J, with investments in consumer health and beauty-adjacent startups. It is a broader incumbent CVC that overlaps with BG Ventures where the portfolio touches personal care and beauty-tech, though it operates at vastly greater scale and across healthcare.
• Procter & Gamble Ventures: P&G Ventures is the CVC and venture arm of Procter & Gamble, investing in consumer and beauty-adjacent startups. While broader than BG Ventures in category scope, it shares the same CVC DNA — coupling corporate capital with operating support from a global consumer/beauty incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BG Ventures