Jessica Alba’s Honest Company Surges in NASDAQ Trading Debut

Jessica Alba is rolling in the dough…

The 40-year-old half-Mexican American actress and entrepreneur’s eco-friendly personal care products brand Honest Co. (HNST) surged 44% in its trading debut on the Nasdaq.

Jessica Alba

Shares of Honest Co. sold for $16 in their initial public offering to close at $23 per share in trading Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about $2.1 billion.

Honest CEO Nick Vlahos told Yahoo Finance Live that the successful IPO was a “validation” of the company’s strategy.

“We’re a mission driven brand. We are at the forefront of this kind of clean movement as it pertains to how consumers are looking at products from an ingredient perspective, around sustainability, around social responsibility.”

That produced a hefty return for Alba, whose stake in the company she founded a decade ago is worth about $130 million — at least on paper. Alba didn’t plan to sell her shares in the offering, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Though she has stepped down as chair of the board, Alba remains a director of the board and is also the company’s chief creative officer.

Alba founded Honest Co. in 2011 as a direct-to-consumer brand built on a commitment to healthy products, free of harmful toxins and chemicals. The Fantastic Four actress has said she got the idea for the company after breaking out in a rash from detergent that she touched while washing her baby’s clothes.

Since then, Honest has grown into a national brand and has partnerships with retail giants including Amazon, Costco, Target and Walgreens.

In addition to baby products like wipes, diapers and shampoos, the company also sells skincare and cosmetics. During the pandemic, Honest expanded its product line to include cleaning supplies, and it paid off. Vlahos said its household and wellness business grew 111% in 2020.

Alba Named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40 List

It’s a fantastic fortune moment for Jessica Alba

The 34-year-old half-Mexican American actress and entrepreneur has been named to Fortune’s 2015 40 Under 40 list, the magazine’s annual ranking of the most influential young people in business.

Jessica Alba

As an expectant mom, Alba – ranked No. 15 on the list – saw a void in the market for less toxic, more sustainable household goods. The Honest Company is rapidly filling that void. Last year, Alba’s company sold some $170 million worth of products like diapers and cleaning supplies in outlets like Costco, Target, Whole Foods and Nordstrom—nearly a threefold increase over 2013.

Now, Alba is looking to expand The Honest Company’s presence into new regions—South Korea is next and China is in the works.

She’s also expanding the company’s portfolio of products with Honest Beauty, a cosmetics and skin-care line launched earlier this month.

But Alba isn’t the only fortunate Latino to make the list…

Hugo Barra comes on at No. 14.

Years after initially getting turned down for a job at Google, the Brazil-born businessman found himself in a plum perch leading the search giant’s mobile aspirations as vice president of Android.

It came as a surprise when in late 2013 Barra announced he was leaving Google for the then relatively unknown Chinese startup Xiaomi, valued at $46 billion.

As vice president, Barra is responsible for leading the company into uncharted territory by ushering its inexpensive products to new international markets—growth areas that are more critical than ever for Xiaomi as China’s smartphone penetration reaches all time highs.

Click here to see the complete Fortune 40 Under 40 list.