Male grooming brand Bombay Shaving Company (BSC) has raised Rs 50 crore($6.6 million) in funding from Gulf Islamic Investments as part of its extended Series C financing round.
The company had announced to have secured Rs 160 crore led by Malabar Investments, a local hedge fund in the first leg of its Series C round last month.
"We are singularly focused on building a brand that owns hair removal and personal care. As we scale from Rs 150 crore to Rs 500 crore and Rs 1,000 crore, we needed an investor group that could guide us on building an IPO-able company,” said Shantanu Deshpande, founder CEO at BSC.
In November, VCCircle reported that BSC had hired boutique investment banking firm o3 Capital to scout for potential investors for fundraising.
The company had earlier said that the capital infused in this round will be primarily used for expanding its portfolio of personal care and hair removal products. Besides, BSC will continue to aggressively expand its offline distribution, build international presence, invest in brand building and hire talent across positions.
"We love the company’s focus on hair removal and personal care as a category. It is a deep market, there is first mover advantage and the company has demonstrated strengths in building innovative products," said Pankaj Gupta and Mohammed Alhassan, co-founders at GII.
BSC believes that GII will also be strategically positioned to provide access to GCC markets in addition to already existing domestic market expertise the company has attained.
The brand, operated by Visage Lines Personal Care Pvt Ltd, had told last month that it is in advanced stage of discussion to raise another Rs 300 crore in funding. It also intends to acquire brands in adjacent categories and content platforms.
Deshpande, a former McKinsey & Co consultant, had launched Bombay Shaving Company in June 2016. The company now has more than 100 products across shaving, bath and body, skin, and beard care categories.
This will be the sixth round of financing for the company that has been backed by investors such as Sixth Sense Ventures and Colgate-Palmolive. In 2019, the firm had created exits worth Rs 20 crore for early angels and employees.
Last year, the company had secured $6.2 million in a funding round led by consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser.
BSC competes with the likes of Marico Ltd-owned male grooming brand Beardo and Emami backed The Man Company.
In June last year, Kolkata-based fast-moving consumer goods maker Emami Ltd had increased its exposure in Helios Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, the startup that sells grooming products under the brand The Man Company.
In July 2020, Marico Ltd, the maker of Parachute hair oil and Saffola cooking oil, bought the remaining 55% stake in Zed Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, which runs male grooming brand Beardo.
Early last year, Wipro Consumer Care, a unit of Wipro Enterprises Pvt Ltd, invested in Chandigarh-based male grooming startup LetsShave Pvt Ltd.
