Lime

What Lime does

Lime (株式会社Lime) is a privately held Japanese multi-brand beauty company founded in February 2017 and headquartered in Meguro, Tokyo. The company originated as a fitness operator (LiME personal gyms, REP UP GYM, YASE LABO) before divesting that segment in 2024 and pivoting entirely to beauty services, a transition completed with its 2024 strategic restructuring. As of early 2026, Lime operates 200+ salons across multiple brands — facial salons (LIME herbal peeling, Belle Korean skin management, Lift small-face specialty), eyebrow/eyelash perm salons (most eyes, SSIN STUDIO), and LED eyelash extensions (LUMISS) — augmented by D2C cosmetics (SAKURA-GROW), real estate services for credit-constrained renters (Nighthousing, 突破de賃貸), and a small-business M&A brokerage.

The core operating model combines direct-operated salons with a franchise channel for most brands (eyebrow franchise launched May 2023, esthetic franchise November 2022), supplemented by K-beauty technique integration, brand-specific marketing across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and X, and a recruitment-driven talent pipeline via HERP careers. Revenue was disclosed at 2 billion yen (approximately $13M USD) with 7 consecutive years of growth, generated across five revenue streams: beauty salon operations (direct + franchise fees), beauty D2C product sales (subscription/recurring), real estate brokerage transaction fees, small M&A brokerage commissions, and consulting/professional services.

Lime's stated vision is to become 'Asia's No.1 Beauty Company,' supported by a FY August 2028 sales target of 75 billion yen (~37x current scale), expansion to 300 HQ staff by 2029, and a planned relocation to a larger Shibuya facility. The company is founder-led (CEO Hayato Saito, COO Tsubasa Imai), with no disclosed institutional investors or parent entity, and was selected for Ishin K.K.'s 'Best Venture 100 2026' list. Customer base is entirely distributed across consumer beauty, franchise operators, and SMB clients — no enterprise anchors or named corporate customers are referenced in available materials.

Name

Lime

Legal name

株式会社Lime

Website

https://lime-fit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lime is a Japan-based multi-brand beauty company operating 200+ facial and eyebrow/eyelash salons nationwide under brands including LIME, most eyes, SSIN STUDIO, and Belle, complemented by D2C cosmetics, real estate services, and a small-business M&A brokerage.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beauty Salon Services

NAICS

Beauty Salons (812112), Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (456120), Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844), Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)

akta.pro primary industry

Eye & Lip Skincare (CRABAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hand & Body Care (Lotions, Creams, Body Oils) (CRADANAC), Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Styling, Treatments) (CRADANAE)

Keywords

• Beauty salon services
• Herbal peeling facial
• Eyebrow eyelash perm
• Beauty D2C cosmetics
• K-beauty skincare

Headquarters

HQ city

Kami-meguro

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Beauty Salon Operations: Revenue from facial salons and eyebrow/eyelash perm salons operated under brands including LIME, most eyes, SSIN STUDIO, and Belle. Services include herbal peeling, acne care, eyebrow perm, and eyelash perm treatments. Both direct-operated stores and franchise fees contribute to revenue.
2. Beauty D2C (Direct-to-Consumer): Online sales of beauty products including SAKURA-GROW cosmetics brand featuring serums, after-creams, and lip care products. Eliminates distribution middlemen to offer high-quality products at accessible prices.
3. Real Estate Services: Rental brokerage and housing support services including '突破de租房' (application breakthrough rental) and 'Nighthousing' for nightlife industry workers. Revenue from brokerage fees and service charges.
4. Small M&A Brokerage: Intermediary services for small-scale M&A transactions in the beauty and store industries. Revenue from success fees and brokerage commissions on completed deals.
5. Consulting Services: Business consulting and store development support for beauty businesses. Advisory services for franchise operations and business optimization.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Lime operates a multi-brand portfolio of beauty salons across Japan, including herbal peeling facial salons (LIME/Hi-UP), Korean skin management salons (Belle), and eyebrow/eyelash perm specialty salons (most eyes, SSIN STUDIO), supplemented by the SAKURA-GROW D2C cosmetics line and breakthrough rental real estate services. The company also runs newer franchises in LED lash extensions (LUMISS), facial slimming (Lift), pilates (LIME pilates), and after-school daycare (ともパレ), distributing services through 250+ company-owned and franchise storefronts nationwide.

Product overview

Lime is a multi-brand beauty company operating a portfolio of salon and D2C brands. The core offerings include facial salons (Hi-UP LIME herbal peeling, Belle Korean skin management), eye salons (most eyes, SSIN STUDIO eyebrow/eyelash perm), Beauty D2C products (SAKURA-GROW cosmetics), real estate services (突破de賃貸, Nighthousing), and newer ventures including LED eyelash (LUMISS), small face (Lift), pilates (LIME pilates), and daycare services (ともパレ). The company operates approximately 250 stores nationwide and uses its salon network as customer touchpoints to feed into D2C and other service businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LIME: ハーブピーリング・ニキビケア为中心的フェイシャルサルーン (Herbal peeling facial salon focused on herb peeling and acne care)
• Hi-UP
• Belle
• most eyes
• SSINSTUDIO
• SAKURA-GROW
• 突破de賃貸
• Nighthousing
• LIME pilates
• ともパレ
• LUMISS
• Lift

Quantifiable outcome

• 250+ beauty salons nationwide (facial and eye salons)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves16 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Soda Beauty (ソーダビューティー): Emerging Japanese beauty services and D2C operator with rapid multi-brand salon expansion; comparable as a similar scale-up competitor in the Japanese specialty salon segment.
• Espoir: Korean beauty brand with salon-adjacent positioning; comparable as a K-beauty-aligned player relevant to Lime's Belle (Korean skin management) brand and Asian expansion thesis.
• INNISFREE: Korean-origin beauty brand with Japan retail presence; comparable as an Asian beauty brand crossing into the Japanese market, relevant to Lime's K-beauty integration strategy.

Broad incumbents

• FANCL: Japanese health and beauty brand with D2C distribution and skincare expertise; comparable as a scaled Japanese cosmetics retailer with direct-to-consumer reach that Lime's SAKURA-GROW D2C aspires toward.
• KOSÉ: Major Japanese cosmetics manufacturer with growing salon-services footprints and D2C brands; comparable as a broad incumbent across beauty products and adjacent service channels.
• Peach John: Japanese beauty and lifestyle D2C operator with strong e-commerce infrastructure; comparable in D2C consumer-beauty distribution and brand-building for Japanese female consumers.
• Shiseido Salon / Beauty Services: Incumbent Japanese cosmetics giant with beauty service and salon offerings in addition to its core brand portfolio; comparable as an established broader beauty player with services exposure.

Others

• Hot Pepper Beauty / Recruit: Japan's largest beauty service marketplace; comparable as the dominant customer acquisition channel for salon bookings, materially influencing customer flow across Lime's salon footprint.

Direct peers

• AXXZIA: Japanese multi-brand beauty company spanning salon services, D2C cosmetics, and China-focused expansion — a closer model for Lime's salon-plus-D2C-plus-Asia-ambition strategy.
• TBC Group: Long-standing Japanese beauty salon chain operating facial, hair removal, and esthetic services nationwide; directly comparable to Lime's facial and eyebrow/eyelash salon portfolio at even larger scale, making it the most relevant reference point.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hayakiii
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2CwlsEdR4hPGrFwV4lntwQ
• Instagraminstagram.com/_mosteyes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Lime