ITC Looks To Grow Deeper In Mom & Babycare Space; Closes $5 Mn Deal In Mylo

Indian conglomerate ITC Ltd on Saturday (May 28, 2022) announced that it has completed the acquisition of a 10.07% stake in Blupin Technologies, the parent company that owns the D2C mother and baby platform Mylo.

The Kolkata-based FMCG giant has invested INR 39.34 Cr ($5.077 Mn) in Mylo, acquiring 400 equity shares and 2,980 compulsorily convertible cumulative participating preference shares, according to a regulatory filing.

The investment was a part of Mylo’s $17 Mn Series B round in April 2022. Mylo had raised funds from W Health Ventures and Endiya Partners back then besides ITC Ltd.

Founded in 2018 by Vinit Garg, Mylo is a community-style platform for new and expecting mothers to help them track their baby’s development, read content on 500+ topics and ask questions to other mothers about problems they might be facing.

From baby names to nutrition, from pregnancy yoga to understanding the pregnancy (conception to postpartum) journey, from talking about PCOS or postpartum depression to knowing a baby’s development stages, Mylo’s community of mothers offer all sorts of advice. 

Mylo simultaneously offers baby and mom care products including maternity dresses, pregnancy pillows, diapers, feeding tools and other baby essentials.

ITC’s Growing Interest In The Mom & Baby Care Segment

The mom and baby segment is a $5 Bn market in India. However, the category penetration is only 15%, with very few brands such as MyGlamm’s BabyChakra & The Moms Co, Mother Sparsh and SHEROES’ Baby Gogo working in the content to commerce flywheel.

The funding and M&As in the ecosystem are low, too. Most recently kids’ ecommerce brand FirstCry filed for a $1 Bn IPO but intends to wait out the storm. Besides that, D2C startup HopScotch last raised $25 Mn in September 2020 and D2C brand R For Rabbit raised INR 40 Cr in October 2021.

As ITC intends to focus on new-age digital brands, the investment in Mylo aims to provide the conglomerate with an early-mover advantage in the kids-focussed ecommerce space. 

In the traditional ecommerce space, ITC owns 25+ brands such as Aashirwad, Savlon, Sunfeast, Yippee and Classmate, but it is yet to make a dent in the market largely owned by Johnson & Johnson. 

With the space going increasingly digital and content-focussed, ITC has invested in two mother and baby care brands to date – Mother Sparsh and now, Mylo.

Besides the mom care space, ITC has also backed vending kiosk provider Azgo’s parent company Delectable.  

The FMCG giant plans to spread its wings in the Indian startup ecosystem and already backs several AIFs such as Fireside Ventures to invest in the Indian startup ecosystem.