# Ben Bennett

> Ben Bennett is the West Hollywood-based founder and CEO of The Center, a beauty brand accelerator established in 2019. Previously a co-founder of HatchBeauty, he has built and backed brands with partners including Susan Yara, Carrie Barber, Chriselle Lim, Iskra Lawrence and Claudia Sulewski. Naturium sold to e.l.f. Beauty for $355 million in 2023; TSG announced acquisitions involving Phlur in 2025 and Saltair in 2026.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at The Center
- **Organizations:** The Center, HatchBeauty, Bennett Kreative, Limited Brands
- **Known for:** Co-founded HatchBeauty and later founded The Center., Helped build Naturium, acquired by e.l.f. Beauty for $355 million in 2023., Built a multi-brand platform that attracted a $15 million Prelude minority investment in 2021.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked across apparel businesses at Limited Brands and on Bath & Body Works.
- **2010** — Co-founded HatchBeauty with Tracy Holland; some reporting dates its founding to 2009.
- **2019** — Sold his stake in HatchBeauty to Lion Capital and founded The Center, according to investor Prelude’s founding date.
- **2020** — Partnered with Carrie Barber to purchase MAKE Beauty; brand relaunched in May 2021.
- **2021** — The Center received a $15 million minority investment from Prelude Growth Partners.
- **2022** — Saltair launched with Iskra Lawrence; Phlur relaunched with Chriselle Lim.
- **2023** — e.l.f. Beauty completed its $355 million acquisition of Naturium on October 4.
- **2024** — The Center invested in Claudia Sulewski’s Cyklar in March; Bennett appeared in Vogue Business’s 100 Innovators beauty selection.
- **2025** — TSG announced an agreement to acquire Phlur; The Center was to retain a meaningful stake.
- **2026** — TSG announced an agreement for a majority stake in Saltair on July 30; transaction counsel subsequently described the sale.

## Achievements

- Co-founded HatchBeauty and later founded The Center.
- Helped build Naturium, acquired by e.l.f. Beauty for $355 million in 2023.
- Built a multi-brand platform that attracted a $15 million Prelude minority investment in 2021.
- Included in Vogue Business’s 2024 100 Innovators beauty selection.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — TSG announced its agreement to acquire a majority stake in Saltair; terms were undisclosed.
- **2025-07** — TSG announced its Phlur acquisition agreement, with Chriselle Lim and The Center retaining meaningful stakes.

## Links

- Website: https://thecenter.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbennett

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ben-bennett
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21