THE WHAT? The Estee Lauder Companies’ New Incubation Ventures is said to have acquired a minority stake in Chinese luxury fragrance brand, Melt Season. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

THE DETAILS According to a report published by Inside Retail, Melt Season’s parent company, Verse China, recently raised RMB10 million via two funding rounds led by Breeze capital.

THE WHY? New Incubation Ventures latest buy suggests a deliberate strategy to invest in the C-beauty landscape; the ELC-owned firm snapped up a minority stake in local skin care label Code Mint earlier this year.