Online beauty products marketplace Purplle, operated by Mumbai-based Manash Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, has raised $75 million (Rs 561 crore) in a fresh round of funding led by homegrown private equity firm Kedaara Capital and joined by Sequoia Capital and Blume Ventures.
VCCircle was the first to report in August that the beauty e-tailer is in discussions with Kedaara Capital to secure funding.
“With this investment, we will strengthen our technology capabilities, deepen our talent pool, introduce new and innovative products and brands, invest in entrepreneurs building differentiated beauty offerings, and create a treasure chest for potential acquisitions,” said Manish Taneja, co-founder and CEO at Purplle.com.
Purplle, on the lines of Mamaearth, Nykaa and The Good Glamm (MyGlamm’s parent firm), is actively scouting for acquisitions in the beauty and personal care space, analysts tracking the category told VCCircle.
The latest infusion will augment the company’s goal to deliver 6-8X growth in the next 5 years, as per a press statement. The company had raised $45 million from Sequoia Capital and Verlinvest in March this year.
“We believe Purplle offers a unique value proposition and a superior customer experience and will continue to have strong tailwinds for a long time,” said Sunish Sharma, managing partner at Kedaara Capital.
Purplle was founded by IIT Delhi alumnus Manish Taneja, and IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad alumnus Rahul Dash in 2012. The company operates a beauty and personal care ecommerce platform. It said it has 50,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) across more than 1,000 third-party and own brands, according to its website.
According to the company, its private label Good Vibes is now a Rs 150 crore brand. With 7 million monthly active users, the startup claims to be growing at more than 90% year-on-year. It raised a Series C round led by Goldman Sachs in December 2019.
Personal care deals
The broader beauty and personal care segment has seen multiple events this year including the IPO of beauty products firm Nykaa eyeing a valuation of $7 billion.
On Thursday, VCCircle reported that make-up brand SUGAR Cosmetics is in discussion with private equity players to raise funding at $500 million valuation.
On Wednesday, homegrown cosmetic major Lotus Herbals Pvt. Ltd. announced acquisition of 32% stake in Fixderma India Pvt. Ltd., owner of the Fixderma and FCL brand of dermaceuticals.
In the biggest transaction ever in the D2C segment, the Good Glamm Group, which owns D2C brand MyGlamm, acquired baby and mother-care products startup The Moms Co, for Rs 500 crore, earlier this month.
Last week, TPG Growth-backed Nykaa acquired skincare brand Dot & Key before acquiring jewellery etailer Pipa Bella in April and women styling platform 20Dresses.com in 2019.
This year in July, personal care brand Mamaearth said it had raised $50 million from European investment firm Sofina Ventures SA and Sequoia Capital. A month prior to that, Marico, which sells Parachute hair oil and Saffola cooking oil, picked up a majority stake in a D2C personal care brand.
In April, private equity firm ChrysCapital acquired a stake in Wow Skin Science.
