Southern California Companies Expand Across Varied Business Lines
The organizations that comprise the lists in this issue’s “Fastest Growing Companies in Southern California” span a wide range of industries from tech and media to consumer goods to children’s clothing and pickleball to restaurants. Although these sectors vary greatly, they share one fundamental thing in common – a focus on growth driven by top leadership who specialize in both finding a niche and connecting with customers.
At Santa Monica-based Hawke Media, the fastest growing company in L.A. County, revenue increased by 2,263% from 2022 to 2024. Company founder and chief executive Erik Huberman credited the massive growth to a strategy fueled by expanding into new markets and more than 20 acquisitions that broadened its marketing expertise. Additionally, it launched Hawke Ventures, an investment arm dedicated to supporting disruptive marketing, e-commerce and technology companies.
Orange County’s fastest growing benefitted from greater demand for employers who are trying to attract and retain top talent. Great Work Perks, based in Newport Beach, increased revenue by 1,072% with a platform that doesn’t charge employers and has been embraced by HR leaders and benefits managers. The company has no administrative costs and generates revenue as employees participate in its loyalty and engagement programs.
Happy Head, a Los Angeles-based company that reported 404% growth, scaled without any investment from venture capital. The company is focused on dermatologist-prescribed, customized hair medicine and treatments and added 60,000 new customers in 2024 alone. It utilizes telemedicine and expanded its product offerings to include non-prescription supplements and serums. This year, it added a DNA-based hair analysis kit to the market to further develop personalized treatment plans.
Meanwhile, at children’s sleepwear retailer Bellabu Bear, revenue increased 260% from 2022 to 2024 as founder and chief executive Tamara Kaakani credited her Costa Mesa company’s rapid rise to word-of-mouth referrals. Additionally, licensed partnerships with Paramount, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. and Minecraft introduced the eczema-friendly bamboo pajamas that she originally created for her own children to new audiences. The company projects future growth as it innovates with a patent-pending convertible footie pajama.
Rael, a manufacturer of feminine care products, was founded in 2017 and credits early expansion into international markets for its growth. The company expanded quickly into South Korea after a scandal revealed harmful ingredients in conventional menstrual pads and demand for organic and natural products surged. Rael opened a Seoul office in 2018 and established a product development team that supported further expansion into Japan and has plans for more Asian markets. Today, the company employs 75 people, 40 in the U.S. and 35 in Korea, with 90% women and over half of its U.S. employees first- or second-generation immigrants.
There’s also noted validity to the tried-and-true method of celebrity endorsement and product placement. HexClad has quickly grown to a $1-billion valuation following a $100-million investment last year from Studio Ramsay Global, a partnership between Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay and FOX Entertainment. The deal included a combination of cash and media commitments and expanded on Ramsay’s initial ownership in the brand in 2021.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based Forme Science’s revenue increased by 820% from 2022 to 2024. The company has engineered patented posture-correcting activewear that improves alignment, recovery and breathing. It received a major boost when Taylor Swift was photographed in Time’s “Person of the Year” edition in December 2023 wearing its Forme Power Bra as she intensely trained and rehearsed for the Eras Tour.
-David Nusbaum
