The round also saw participation from some existing investors like Belgian Sofina Ventures SA and some new funds such as UAE-based Evolvence, said Varun Alagh, cofounder and CEO, Honasa Consumer.
Some early investors like Fireside Ventures and Stellaris partially exited in this round. There was also a share buyback from some of its employees. Other existing investors include Some of its existing investors include Sequoia Capital, Sharrp Ventures and Titan Capital.
“Seqouia Global, Sofina and Evolvence have unique strengths in US, Europe & GCC, respectively, which will help us grow internationally and learn from others in these markets,” said Alagh.
The company which aims to touch a revenue figure of $1 billion in the next five years will deploy the funds towards expanding its portfolio of personal care D2C brands. Honasa Consumer owns three brands – Mamaearth, The Derma Co, and Aqualogica, launched a few weeks ago, and will introduce more brands in the coming months.
Along with launching new brands, Honasa will continue aggressively expanding distribution for existing brands -Mamaearth and The Derma Co. and explore strategic inorganic growth opportunities in the beauty and personal care segment.
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“We will also strengthen our tech capabilities as our technology and data driven mind-set are the main differentiators from the large incumbent brands,” Alagh added.
Founded by Alagh and his wife Ghazal Alagh in 2016, the company that makes toxin-free products has also opened seven brick-and-mortar stores this year. It plans to expand the outlets to the top 20 cities where the sale is highest. Alagh said Mamaearth’s own online platform is its single largest channel of total sales, without giving specific numbers. The products are also available on online marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart and Nykaa. It currently caters to over 1000 cities in India.
D2C brands have been gaining traction over the last year or so with multiple new-age brands like boAt in electronics, Sugar Cosmetics for makeup, and Bombay Shaving Company (BSC) in men’s grooming. The growth in D2C brands has largely come on the back of multiple factors like increased consumer awareness and willingness to try out new brands.
