Wipro Consumer Care, a unit of Wipro Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, has invested in Chandigarh-based male grooming startup LetsShave Pvt. Ltd.
Bengaluru-based Wipro Consumer made the investment through its newly launched consumer-focused venture fund, it said in a statement. It didn’t disclose the amount.
The fund aims to increase its portfolio of startups in consumer brands and consumer-tech domains in India and Southeast Asia, a Wipro Consumer spokesperson said.
Sumit Keshan, managing partner at Wipro Consumer Care - Ventures, said the investment in LetsShave is in line with the fund’s strategy of leveraging emerging online opportunities targeting the millennials.
This is Wipro Consumer’s second investment in the male grooming segment. It had backed Delhi-based Happily Unmarried Marketing Pvt. Ltd, which offers male grooming products under the Ustraa brand, in 2017. Ustraa has been backed by consumer internet firm Info Edge (India) Ltd since 2012.
LetsShave, founded in 2015, had partnered with Korean razor manufacturer Dorco Ltd from the beginning for the supply of razors, which remain its core category. Besides shaving products, the firm also offers items in body care and skincare categories for both men and women.
The firm has more than 450,000 customers and 22 grooming products for men and women and was likely to expand the portfolio to over 40.
In October 2018, Dorco turned into an investor in the grooming products firm by picking up a 10% stake in the company in 2018.
Deals in grooming products segment
There have been a couple of deals in the grooming products segment in the recent past.
In August 2018, Bombay Shaving Company raised an undisclosed amount in its Series A round led by consumer goods major Colgate-Palmolive. The company's existing venture investor Fireside Ventures also participated in the round.
In 2017, fast-moving consumer goods major Emami Ltd entered the men’s grooming product space by picking up a 30% stake in The Man Company.
Same year, Marico Ltd, the maker of Parachute coconut oil and Saffola cooking oil, also entered the male grooming market by picking up a 45% stake in Zed Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd, which owns Beardo.
