From Culture To Capital: Babba Rivera is Rewriting Beauty Narratives Through Ceremonia

Dayna Williams
Sep 25
1 min read

Ceremonia founder Babba Rivera. Photography by Sabrina Santiago

Babba C. Rivera, founder and CEO of Ceremonia, is rewriting beauty standards with a Latinx lens. Born in Sweden to Chilean immigrant parents, Rivera grew up straddling cultures and never seeing her identity represented in the beauty industry. Today, she’s building one of the fastest-growing clean-haircare brands by putting culture at the center.

From Culture to Capital

Rivera launched Ceremonia in 2020 with products inspired by Latin American hair rituals, like scalp oils infused with guava and aloe. What started with one product has scaled into more than 15 offerings, and in 2023 Ceremonia became the first Latinx-founded hair brand on Sephora shelves nationwide (Inc., 2023).

Breaking Barriers in Funding

Latinx founders receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, but Rivera has raised over $11.5 million, proving that cultural authenticity and business savvy can coexist (Medium, 2021). Her leadership has driven 170% year-over-year growth while keeping community and sustainability at the forefront (Inc., 2023).

Lessons for Founders

Identity is Strategy: Lived experience can be your differentiator.
Scale with Purpose: Growth means more than profit—it’s about impact.
Own Your Narrative: Investors buy into founders as much as products.

Call to Action

Rivera’s story is a blueprint for Latinx and Black founders alike: embrace culture as your power, not your limitation. Support Ceremonia, invest in Latinx-led ventures, and start building your own founder narrative today—because legacy begins with ownership.