Kevin Murphy, managing director of Encore Consumer Capital, said, “It has been a great privilege and a lot of fun for us at Encore to have partnered with Maureen Kelly, Scott McDonough and the rest of the amazing team at tarte since our investment in 2010. The company’s performance over that time has been nothing short of extraordinary, and we look forward with confidence to watching tarte continue to thrive with its new partner KOSÉ.”

“We’ve loved working with the incredible Encore team-over the past four years they’ve helped us expand our footprint and reach more tartelettes worldwide,” said Maureen Kelly, Founder and CEO of tarte. “Our vision throughout has been to create cruelty-free beauty products that are ‘healthy treats for your skin,’ foster the highest level of customer service and give back to the community and the environment. We’re excited about joining the KOSÉ family, but we’ll miss our Encore family, and wish them the very best in the future.”

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP acted as legal counsel to tarte in this transaction.

About Encore Consumer Capital
Encore Consumer Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm focused on the consumer products industry. The firm has raised nearly $400 million in equity capital and invested in 16 companies. Encore’s current and prior investments include personal care products companies (MyChelle Dermaceuticals, tarte), food companies (Aidells Sausage Company, Mesa Foods, Ciao Bella Gelato Company, The Quinoa Corporation, Brownie Brittle), beverage companies (The Isopure Company, Juice Tyme), and pet products companies (ThunderWorks, Zuke’s). The firm targets companies with between $10 million and $100 million in annual revenues where Encore’s strong operating expertise in strategy development, brand marketing and distribution expansion can help drive performance. For more information please visit www.encoreconsumer.com.

About tarte, Inc.
As the leader in high-performance naturals™, tarte proves that glamour can be good for you. With formulations that marry treatment with makeup, tarte founder and CEO Maureen Kelly wants her tartelettes to respect their skin while still enjoying the beauty of makeup. The cruelty-free beauty products are infused with ingredients like superfruits, plant extracts, vitamins, minerals and other naturally-derived ingredients. But it’s not just about what’s in the formulas; it’s what’s not in them that really set tarte apart-all products are formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate and gluten. From the award-winning blushes and LipSurgence™ lip tints to the breakthrough Amazonian clay, colored clay and maracuja infused complexion products, tarte delivers an exceptional skincare experience with powerful results. As a socially responsible company, tarte cares about the environment by supporting cooperatives in the Rainforest and reducing environmental waste with sustainable, eco-chic packaging. For additional information please visit www.tarte.com.

About KOSÉ Corporation
Founded as a cosmetics company in Tokyo by Kozaburo Kobayashi in 1946. KOSÉ’s main strengths are its market-creating product development capability and its original brand marketing that have established the brand at the most suitable level depending on consumer needs, being distributed across Asia with a central focus on Japan. Production bases are in Japan, China and Taiwan. For additional information please visit http://www.kose.co.jp/global/en.