The Body Shop brand launches in Brazil thanks to a new venture.

Brazil has been recognized as the fourth largest beauty market in the world, and now millions of Brazilians will have easy access to products from The Body Shop via a partnership with a local retailer. L’Oréal has announced that The Body Shop has acquired 51% of Emporio Body Store in Brazil with the option of increasing its shareholding to 80% by 2019. Founded in 1997 in Porto Alegre by Tobias Chanan, Emporio offers a complete range of beauty products sold through a franchise network. Chanan will remain CEO of the group with the objective of expanding the business through the franchise channel.

In addition to offering consumers a range of The Body Shop’s most popular products, new products will be developed locally with L’Oréal’s Research Centre in Rio de Janeiro.

The acquisition is subject to the approval of the Brazilian Anti-Trust Authority CADE, and should be completed before the end of the year.