Earlier this month, there was a new wrinkle in the relationship between supply chain actors and beauty companies as publicly traded haircare brand Olaplex, in its first acquisition, took over Purvala Bioscience, a biotech company at the forefront of the bond-building revolution in haircare, and Magic Molecule, a much smaller, but skyrocketing brand, assumed control over its hypochlorous acid manufacturer Simple Science. These deals follow David Protein acquiring Epogee, maker of EPG, the fat substitute it puts in its bars.

For the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty, we are diving into the inclination toward vertical integration. We asked 17 beauty entrepreneurs, manufacturers, biotechnology-fueled ingredient startups, investment bankers, investors and consultants the following: Will these deals continue? How else do you see them manifesting? What are the opportunities and possible risks for a brand purchasing a supply chain partner?