Mana Products Said to Furlough Employees, Explore Options

Industry rumors swirled Monday around the future of one of beauty’s oldest contract manufacturers, which is allegedly in the process of exploring “strategic options.”

Multiple sources told WWD Monday that Mana Products, the firm founded by Nikos Mouyiaris roughly five decades ago, furloughed its workforce and faces an uncertain future.

The firm’s chief executive officer, Robert Jaegly, said: “As a matter of company policy, Mana does not comment on rumors or speculation regarding personnel matters or internal operations. The company continues to work closely with its stakeholders as it evaluates a range of strategic options for the business.”

After Mouyiaris’s death in 2019, the firm was acquired by Traub Capital Partners in 2020. One source said the company had pursued a more recent sale, which fell through, resulting in its closure.

As reported, when Mana was exploring deal options, it was said to have earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around $20 million.

Mana was formerly a family affair, with Mouyiaris’s daughter Ariana Mouyiaris launching Make Beauty under the company in 2013. That business was acquired by Ben Bennett’s The Center in 2020 and relaunched the following year with Carrie Barber, who took the role of founder at the makeup brand.

The company had also owned Black Opal, which was sold to Desiree Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack in 2019.

In 2022, the company had launched its “Artists at the Bench” initiative, which entailed three makeup lines masterminded by Meredith Baraf, Marco Castro and Rudy Miles. Makeup was traditionally the manufacturer’s forte, but it had also shifted in recent years to create skin care as well.