Vacation names Nelson Miranda, former CEO of DeMert Brands, parent company of Not Your Mother's, as chief executive officer

Vacation has named Nelson Miranda chief executive officer, WWD reports. The executive spent two decades at Procter & Gamble, then held senior leadership roles at Revlon, before joining DeMert Brands, parent company of Not Your Mother's, as CEO in 2020. DeMert Brands was acquired by Henkel in 2026.

At Vacation, Nelson Miranda will work alongside cofounders Dakota Green, Lach Hall and Marty Bell. Green explains the decision to bring in an outside CEO: « We got to a place where the brand was achieving a level of scale that we had always intended for it to, and we wanted to bring someone in who can help us get to the next level of growth », he said in an interview. He adds that he wants to refocus on brand and product: « Lach and I love working on brand and product, so we wanted to essentially bring someone in who can unlock that next level of growth, so that we can continue to focus on brand and product. »

Launched five years ago, Vacation is sold at Walgreens, Target, Costco, Erewhon, Ulta Beauty, sephora.com and other retailers. The brand's individual investors include Emma Stone, Janelle Monáe and Peter Rahal. In March, VMG Partners, which has previously invested in Kosas, K18 and Drunk Elephant, took a stake in Vacation, considered a minority stake, though the size of the deal could not be confirmed.

Robin Tsai, managing partner at VMG Partners, places Nelson Miranda's arrival within the brand's momentum, having risen from 24th to 13th place in the U.S. sunscreen market in a year: « That reflects more than strong brand awareness; it shows that the products, brand world and approach to distribution are converting into a meaningful consumer business. Nelson brings the operating experience to carry that momentum forward with focus and discipline. »

Distribution and collaborations

To expand the brand's visibility, Nelson Miranda is notably counting on collaborations, such as the one carried out with Pepsi, which gave rise to the « Pepsi Wild Cherry SPF 30 Tinted Lip Gel ». The new CEO points to still significant growth potential in the U.S. market: « There's a couple of big retailers we're not in, and there are some channels that we are just dabbling into. So, tons of runway for the next five years to continue to grow in the U.S. market. »