Bombay Shaving Company Raises Additional INR 50 Cr In Extended Series C Round From GII

Delhi NCR-based D2C grooming and personal care startup Bombay Shaving Company (BSC) has raised an additional INR 30 Cr in an extended Series C funding round led by Gulf Islamic Investments, a UAE-based financial services company.

The round follows BSC’s Series C round in January 2022 where hedge fund Malabar Investments, Patni Advisors, Singularity AMC and other HNIs pumped INR 140 Cr in the men’s grooming brand.

The previous round also saw an ESOP buyback and early investor exits worth INR 45 Cr. Close to a year back, it had raised $6.1 Mn (INR 45 Cr) in a funding round led by UK-based consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser. It also has Colgate Palmolive, another FMCG giant, on its cap table.

The startup plans to use the funds to get strategic access to GCC markets, to scale operations to INR 500 Cr topline with an omnichannel presence in the next two years. It further plans to expand its portfolio into women’s category – launched in 2020.

Founded in 2016, Bombay Shaving Company began its life as a D2C men’s shaving and grooming products startup that then expanded into diverse hair removal and hair care categories including a women’s hair removal range that the startup is betting on.

It has a rich portfolio of more than 100 SKUs and the list also includes shaving regimens, trimmers, beard products, razors for women, wax strips, hair removal creams, and other personal care products and accessories.

Bombay Shaving Company has served more than 3 Mn customers across channels in the six years of its existence. The company is clocking INR 150 Cr in net revenue, growing 35% quarter-on-quarter.

“As we scale from INR 150 Cr to INR 500 Cr and INR 1000 Cr, we needed an investor group that could guide us on building an IPO-able company,” Shantanu Deshpande, founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company said in a statement. “Interactions with GII were always focused on the right things – customer, product experience and team quality.,” he added.

According to an Inc42 Plus report titled “D2C Beauty And Personal Care Brands In India: Customer Perception Report, 2021”, Bombay Shaving Company has the best perception among men’s grooming D2C brands in the country.

The report also underlined that gender disparity in beauty and personal care brands is a myth. The market is not limited to basic grooming (read shaving products) or hairstyling. From skincare to hair care, from fragrances to concealers, men’s grooming products have seen a rise in demand

While the market was hit in 2020 because of the Covid-19 lockdowns, since reopening in May 2020, the brands have seen a huge influx of demand. Given this scenario, several men’s grooming brands in the D2C space are exploring the hitherto untapped market. In the men’s grooming space, The Man Company, Ustraa, Spruce, Lets Shave and Beardo have emerged as some of the most popular names.

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