1:00 PM: Insights From the BeautyMatter Deal Index

In a year defined less by exuberance than by discernment, beauty and wellness dealmaking in 2025 offered a revealing read on where the industry is headed next. In this data-driven briefing, BeautyMatter’s John Cafarelli and Luzmary Aybar unpack exclusive findings from the BeautyMatter Deal Index, dissecting investment volume, M&A activity, valuation signals, and public market performance. Drawing on results from the BeautyMatter Dealmaker Sentiment Survey, they identify the categories attracting capital, the traits investors now demand, and the fault lines giving financiers pause. The session offers a clear-eyed preview of how these signals are likely to shape strategy, capital flows, and exits in 2026.up.

Presented by: 

• John Cafarelli, Co-Founder + President, BeautyMatter
• Luzmary Aybar, Business Content, BeautyMatter
   

1:35 PM: Retail Deep Dive

In beauty, physical retail has long been the industry’s great accelerant — the inflection point where emerging brands become scaled businesses and investors find their exits. But as shelf space tightens, department stores falter, and retailers assert unprecedented leverage, that growth engine is beginning to look more like a constraint. In this conversation, BeautyMatter Co-Founder and President John Cafarelli and retail executive Crystal Wood dissect what today’s distribution bottlenecks mean for valuations, margins, and the next deal cycle. From luxury’s structural challenges to overlooked mass and alternative channels, they examine where we are in the world of beauty retail and where we should be placing bets as beauty recalibrates for 2026 and beyond.

Moderator: John Cafarelli, Co-Founder + President, BeautyMatter

Guest:  Crystal Wood, Founder, Beauty-AI 

 

2:00 PM: Investor Roundtable

In 2025, beauty dealmaking didn’t retreat — it recalibrated. As transaction volume moderated but conviction sharpened, investors grew more selective, underwriting growth with greater discipline amid tariff pressures, inflation anxiety, and shifting consumer signals. In this investor roundtable, John Cafarelli sits down with True Beauty Ventures’ Rich Gersten and Prelude Growth’s Alicia Sontag to examine where capital is flowing, how underwriting standards are evolving, and what the resurgence of both traditional and “new” strategics means for exit math. From the convergence of beauty and wellness to retailer leverage and valuation expectations, the conversation offers a clear-eyed look at how sophisticated investors are positioning for 2026.

Moderator: John Cafarelli, Co-Founder + President, BeautyMatter

Guests:

• Rich Gersten, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, True Beauty Ventures
• Alicia Sontag, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Prelude Growth

 

2:30 PM: Investment Banker Roundtable

After a volatile stretch for consumer markets, beauty and wellness dealmaking is entering 2026 with a sharper focus. In this roundtable, John Cafarelli convenes Cascadia’s Ilya Seglin and Jefferies’ Sasha Radic to examine the types of transactions that are making it to the finish line, which are stalling, and why. The discussion dissects the evolving exit landscape, the reemergence of strategics alongside a cohort of “new” buyers, and how macro forces — from capital costs to consumer resilience — are reshaping valuation and timing. For founders and investors alike, it’s a candid assessment of what it will take to get a deal done in the year ahead.

Moderator: John Cafarelli, Co-Founder + President, BeautyMatter

Guests:

• Ilya Seglin, Managing Director, Investment Banking: Consumer, Retail & E-Commerce at Cascadia
• Sasha Radic, Managing Director, Beauty & Wellness Investment Banking at Jefferies

 

3:00 PM: Live Q&A