D2C Beauty & Personal Care Brand Clensta Raises $9 Mn Funding

Gurugram-based D2C beauty and personal care (BPC) startup Clensta has raised INR 75 Cr ($9 Mn) in a mix of debt and equity led by TradeCred and co-led by Shaikh Mohammad Ibrahim Abdulaziz Bin Ibrahim Almualla of the Royal Family from the UAE.

The funding round also saw the participation of other investors like Ex-Im Bank of India, Mumbai Angels, Keiretsu, LetsVenture, and O2 VC Fund. Besides, Clensta roped in Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra as an investor, partner, and brand ambassador to the company.

The startup is looking to use the fresh funds to scale up operations, strengthen brand awareness nationwide, and strengthen its marketing and distribution efforts across geographies – both online and offline.

Founded in 2016 by Puneet Gupta, Clensta offers a range of personal-care products across categories like hair care, skincare, body care, fragrance, and others. The startup claims that its products are sustainable, which are researched and developed at IIT-Delhi. 

In 2019, Clensta started targeting everyday consumer needs by developing proprietary technologies like STAR (Safe Transdermal Absorption of the Reactive Ingredients Technology) that ensure effective and safe transdermal absorption of reactive ingredients and CRAN (Complete Release of Active Nutrients) and patented products for young consumers, it said in a statement.

The D2C brand currently owns five technologies and has several patents under its name. Clensta’s products are available on Nykaa, Amazon, Flipkart, and 20 other marketplaces as well as in offline stores.

Clensta has so far raised INR 105 Cr (including the current round) since its launch and counts IAN & IAN fund, IPV, VCats, Hem Securities, IIT Delhi, and US-AID, amongst its investors. It claims to have seen a topline growth of 100% in FY23, which its plans to grow 3X in FY24. 

“Clensta’s progress showcases a realistic growth trajectory in the competitive personal care industry. Their dedication to innovation, strategic expansion and partnerships positions them for continued success,” said His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Ibrahim Abdulaziz Bin Ibrahim Almualla of the Royal family from UAE. 

“We hope that through our association Clensta will get that push to expand their global footprint and introduce their revolutionary products to consumers across the world,” he added.

In the fast-growing Indian BPC market, which is expected to reach a market size of $28 Bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 27% between 2022 and 2030, Clensta competes with the likes of  WOW Skin Science, Mamaearth, RAS, Plum, Deepika Padukone’s 82°E, among several others.

In April, D2C brand RAS bagged $1.5 Mn from Green Frontier Capital (GFC). Last year, Plum roped in actor Rashmika Mandanna as its brand ambassador and investor while Ranveer Singh invested in beauty brand SUGAR Cosmetics and joined as its brand ambassador.