Honasa Consumer Sets The Stage To Intensify Mamaearth’s Overseas Growth

IPO-bound Honasa Consumer Ltd is ramping up its efforts to take its flagship brand, Mamaearth, into international markets, aiming for substantial growth.

Honasa has designated specific key regions where it intends to intensify its expansion of Mamaearth by partnering with local channels. Among these priority markets are Bangladesh, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, ET reported.

The company has already established its footprint in several international markets, including the UAE, Qatar, Nepal, Malaysia, Maldives, and Mauritius, primarily through Amazon. It utilises a diverse set of distribution avenues, ranging from modern retail outlets and ecommerce platforms to running its own dedicated brand websites in select cases.

This overseas expansion initiative coincides with Honasa Consumer Ltd, actively engaging with investors to secure a pre-IPO funding round in the range of $120 Mn – $150 Mn.

In its preliminary red herring prospectus issued in December last year, Honasa Consumer shared its plans to maintain India as its primary focal market in the medium term. Nevertheless, the company expressed its strategic readiness to opportunistically expand its presence in markets such as the UAE, Nepal, and Bangladesh, either through organic growth or via strategic acquisitions.

The recent intensified focus on international markets coincides with a significant leadership change at Honasa Consumer, where Ashish Mishra, the senior vice president for Offline and International Business, was replaced by Nishchay Sale Dan, former chief business officer at The Good Glamm Group, as its new senior vice president for Offline Sales.

Founded in 2016, Honasa Consumer started as a babycare brand and later pivoted its focus to the core beauty and skincare products segment. It sells its hair care, skincare, and makeup products under Mamaearth and also owns brands like BBlunt, The Derma Co, and Ayuga.

In August, Honasa Consumer Ltd, the parent entity of beauty ecommerce unicorn Mamaearth, received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to float its initial public offer (IPO).

As per the DRHP, several Honasa investors, including founders, Ghazal and Varun Alagh, Evolvence, Fireside Ventures, Sofina Ventures SA, Stellaris Venture Partners, Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl, and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra, are expected to dilute their holding in the IPO.

The revenue from offline channels across all brands of IPO-bound Honasa Consumer Limited, the parent of D2C beauty brand Mamaearth, stood at 35.39% of the revenue from operations during the six-months period ended September 30, 2022.

The share of revenue from offline channels increased to 28.87% in FY22 from 9.06% in FY20, as per the DRHP, translating to a 27X growth during the period.

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