Boscia skin care brand is sold by Fancl to The Center and a dermatologist

Ben Bennett's The Center has acquired skin care brand Boscia from Fancl Corp., working with board-certified dermatologist Dr. Mamina Turegano. The deal is expected to be followed by a relaunch of the brand next year. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Center is a serial acquirer founded by Bennett, who called the Boscia purchase its next act after a string of successful transactions. Turegano, who is prominent on social media, joins as partner behind the revival. The two had first discussed collaborating on a project centred on Asian skin care rituals.

Fancl, the Yokohama-based cosmetics company, created Boscia by combining the words botanical and science. It brought the brand to the United States in 2002 with 18 stock keeping units sold at Henri Bendel, aiming to establish itself in prestige beauty. The brand later expanded into Sephora.

Boscia was based in Irvine, California, and in 2024 a report noted it had closed. A separate report a year later said the brand was preparing a return. It was that winding-down that Bennett and Turegano noticed, sending their conversation to a single question: what if.

The two buyers both admired Boscia. Bennett said they discovered the company was closing up shop and began asking what if they took it on. Persuading the seller took roughly a year, until Fancl finally said they would not stop calling until the asset was sold.

Both founders bring personal ties to the category. Bennett is Thai, and Turegano has a Japanese background. Bennett noted that while K-beauty is enjoying a second, more prominent wave, there have also been waves of J-beauty interest.

"Both of us spent a lot of time talking about not just the brands and skin care formulations that are coming out of Asian countries, but really more of the traditions, rituals and family connections," Bennett said, pointing to techniques and philosophy passed from mothers, grandmothers and aunts.

The brand will be reimagined through modern dermatology while keeping the Japanese skin care philosophy, ingredients and rituals that have defined it. "My Japanese grandmother sold skin care in Japan for 40 years, and I did skin care with her whenever we would visit in the summer," Turegano said.

On ingredients, Turegano is drawn to fermented formulations and is a fan of rice and green tea, alongside the more traditional ingredients popular in the United States. Those are the materials she is excited to work with as the range is rebuilt.

The relaunch is set for the first quarter of next year, but Boscia will not begin with a retail partner. Bennett said he is a firm believer that a brand needs to start as direct-to-consumer, and that they hope to find the right retail partner when the time is right.

A dermatologist-led revival

Bringing in Turegano gives the relaunch a clinical voice, positioning Boscia between Japanese rituals and modern skin science. Her social following offers the direct-to-consumer launch an existing audience rather than one acquired through a retailer.

The structure echoes Bennett's recent work elsewhere. In July, TSG Consumer, a private equity firm, agreed to buy a majority stake in Saltair, the body care brand founded by the British model and influencer Iskra Lawrence, in partnership with The Center.

That deal paired The Center with an influencer-led founder in much the way the Boscia acquisition pairs Bennett with a dermatologist. Both moves back founders who can carry a brand's story through direct, social-first channels.

Other recent beauty and luxury deals

The Boscia purchase comes in an active stretch for deals. We have covered Galderma's agreement to buy ZO Skin Health from Blackstone for $1.5 billion, and Inflexion's minority investment in the Paris nail care brand Manucurist.

We also reported on Chanel and F.P.Journe taking 95% of Ebel for $66.5 million, and on Amorepacific backing Junevity in its hunt for skin-ageing pathways. Against those, Boscia is a dormant brand passing into specialist hands at an undisclosed price.

Neither buyer has given a launch date beyond the first quarter. Bennett and Turegano are betting that a rebuilt brand, introduced online first, can win back customers Boscia once reached through Sephora and Henri Bendel. The first markers will be the direct-to-consumer launch and the opening range.

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Image: Boscia