TCF Capital Funding provided secured financing to support Castanea Partners, RCP Advisors, Stanfield Capital and Northstar Capital in the merger of Thymes and DPM Fragrance, to create CURiO™, a powerful new platform in the prestige bath, body, and home fragrance market.  CURiO will continue to market to consumers under the core brands of Aspen Bay Candles®, Capri Blue® and Thymes®.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN and founded in 1982, Thymes artfully curates intriguing fragrances inspired by nature to craft high quality personal care and home fragrance products.  Thymes has more than 30 years of history in the global gift specialty market with strong, recognizable and timeless fragrances such as Goldleaf® and Frasier Fir®.  Thymes’ premium product line includes soaps, lotions and other bath and body products, as well as home fragrance selections such as candles and diffusers. Thymes products are sold in over 5,000 specialty retail locations in the United States and in 18 countries and territories globally.

Headquartered in Starkville, MS and founded in 1999, DPM Fragrance has become known for providing high quality candles, poured by artisans devoted to their beautiful craft.  DPM, with both its Capri Blue and Aspen Bay Candles brands, has created signature fragrances such as Volcano® and Aloha Orchid® found in Anthropologie and many other fine specialty retailers around the world.  DPM is also well known for developing and hand pouring high-quality candles for several well-known, luxury brands. DPM has been named to the Inc. 5000 for the last five years as one of the fastest growing companies and is a formidable force in the home fragrance segment.

“Thymes and DPM each possess industry-leading fragrances and brands and we are excited to support their merger and CURiO’s future growth.” said TCF Capital Funding Senior Vice President Ed Ryczek.

TCF Capital Funding provides cash flow and asset-based lending to lower middle-market businesses.  National in scope, this senior leveraged lending group focuses on providing private equity sponsor-backed cash flow loans and asset-based loans to companies with less than $100 million in revenue and between $2 million and $10 million in EBITDA. 

Founded in 2001, Castanea Partners is a private equity firm is principally focused on investing in branded consumer products and services. Target sectors include brands with multi-channel distribution in specialty apparel and fashion, footwear, accessories, beauty and personal care, food and beverage, sporting goods, outdoor and leisure, household and juvenile products, health and wellness, and pets products. Castanea typically invests between $15M to $150M of equity capital. 

RCP Advisors, a federally registered investment adviser, is a private equity investment management firm that provides access to North American lower middle market private equity fund managers through funds-of-funds, secondary funds, and co-investment funds as well as advisory services and research.

Stanfield Capital is a private equity firm focused on investment opportunities in lower middle-market consumer companies.  Stanfield Capital was founded in 2014 by Troy Stanfield, a former partner at Castanea Partners.

Founded in 1993, Northstar Capital invests primarily in senior and subordinated debt and invests in a broad range of businesses located in the United States and Canada.