The Center and Dr. Mamina Turegano Buy Boscia, Plan 2026 Relaunch

Ben Bennett's The Center has acquired skin care brand Boscia from Japan's Fancl Corp. together with board-certified dermatologist Dr. Mamina Turegano, and expects to relaunch the brand in the first quarter of next year. The parties did not disclose deal terms.

Boscia — a portmanteau of "botanical" and "science" — has a 23-year U.S. history. Fancl, the Yokohama-based cosmetics company, launched the brand at Henri Bendel in 2002 with 18 SKUs, aiming to break into prestige beauty. Boscia later expanded into Sephora. In 2024, reports said the Irvine, Calif.-based brand had closed. A year later, a separate report said it was preparing a comeback.

How the deal came together

The acquisition grew out of a conversation between Bennett and Turegano about collaborating on a project centered on Asian skin care rituals.

"She has a Japanese background. I'm Thai, and while K-beauty is a phenomenon and experiencing its second and more prominent wave, there have been waves of J-beauty interest," Bennett said. "Both of us spent a lot of time talking about not just the brands and skin care formulations that are coming out of Asian countries, but really more of the traditions, rituals and family connections — the techniques and the philosophy that's passed along from our moms and our grandmothers and aunts."

The two landed on Boscia, a brand both admired. "We discovered that Boscia was closing up shop, and the conversation went to 'what if?'" Bennett said.

Persuading Fancl took persistence — roughly a year of it.

"It took us about a year. After a year, they finally said, 'OK, we get it. You're not going to stop calling until we sell you the asset.' We ended up, you know, getting it done, and we're super excited," Bennett said.

What changes for the brand?

The new owners will reimagine Boscia through the lens of modern dermatology while preserving the Japanese skin care philosophy, ingredients and rituals that have long defined it.

Turegano, who is prominent on social media, brings both clinical credentials and family history to the project. On ingredients, she is drawn to fermented ingredients, and cites rice and green tea as favorites alongside more traditional ingredients popular in the U.S.

"My Japanese grandmother sold skin care in Japan for 40 years, and I did skin care with her whenever we would visit in the summer," she said.

Where will it sell?

Boscia will not launch with a retail partner. Bennett believes a brand needs to begin as direct-to-consumer. "We hope to find a retail partner and the right retail partner when the time's right," he said.

The Boscia deal follows another recent transaction for The Center. In July, private equity firm TSG Consumer signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Saltair, the body care brand founded by U.S.-based British model and influencer Iskra Lawrence, in partnership with The Center. The Boscia relaunch will test whether a dormant legacy brand can be revived on dermatologist credibility and Asian beauty rituals alone.