Forte’s beauty tie-up with Gwynnie’s Goop
BEAUTY entrepreneur Irene Forte – daughter of hotelier Sir Rocco Forte – is rolling out a £5 million expansion of her luxury skincare business.
Later this month, Forte, 33, will launch her Irene Forte Skincare brand through Goop, the multimillion dollar beauty and lifestyle company founded by actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
From the spring, her range will also be sold in eight Flannels and Frasers stores, which are part of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley’ s business empire.
She also plans to open a flagship store and spa in either Kensington or Notting Hill in West London.
Forte worked in the family hotels business after graduating from Oxford University, eventually running its spas in hotels across Europe, where she remains a consultant.
She set up her skincare firm in 2018 and developed products made in Italy with natural ingredients.
The Rocco Forte Hotels group, majority owned by Sir Rocco, 76, owns 15 per cent. Investor Barry Jones has the option to own up to 30 per cent as he builds up his holding from an initial £600,000 to up to £5 million in the next five years.
The nine products in Forte’s range – from moisturisers to lip balms – cost between £ 21 and £ 139. She hopes annual sales will hit £1 million by September, then double in the following 12 months.