Natturel and Kool Pvt. Ltd, a startup that operates personal care company Super Smelly, has raised an undisclosed amount of money in its angel funding round, it said in a statement.
The round was led by Singapore-based Lyte Investment Bank, said Delhi-based Super Smelly, adding that it is focused on the personal-care hygiene needs of the youth. Other angel investors also participated in the round, whose names were not disclosed.
The startup said that it will utilise the funding for marketing, research and product-testing to expand its portfolio.
“The personal care segment for GenZ is a growing market in India, which currently stands at the size of Rs 10,000 crore, considering only the 10% of top SEC (socio economic class) urban population,” said Super Smelly co-founder and chief executive Dipali Mathur.
Lyte founder Varun Sethi said the firm was confident about its investment because of Super Smelly’s domain knowledge and the quality of its products.
“We foresee this segment of skincare being developed into a new vertical and Super Smelly, with a first-mover advantage, can grow at a fast pace,” Sethi added.
Founded in 2018 by Mathur and Milan Sharma, Super Smelly says it aims to cater to young adults, teenagers and pre-teens.
Its products are available on major platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa and Bigbasket, and it sells its range across over 250 retail outlets in Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region).
Deals in the personal care segment
A host of startups targeting the personal care and hygiene segment have come up in recent years, as they seek to upend traditional manufacturing and distribution methods.
Earlier this month, early-stage venture capital fund Sauce.vc invested over Rs 3 crore in Bare Anatomy, a personalised hair care brand. The Gurugram-based company said it would use the funding for research and product development.
In June, Scentials Beauty Care and Wellness Pvt. Ltd, which mainly offers beauty products endorsed by celebrities, raised Rs 25 crore ($3.6 million) in its Series A round of funding from Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of consumer goods giant Unilever Plc.
In the same month, personal care brand mCaffeine raised $2 million in a Series A round of funding from a clutch of investors led by RP-SG Ventures.