Mamaearth Acquires Majority Stake In Skincare Brand Dr. Sheth’s

Mamaearth’s parent company, Honasa Consumer has acquired a majority stake in skincare brand Dr. Sheth’s at a valuation of INR 28 Cr. 

The fresh capital will be used to scale Dr. Sheth’s business and also, strengthen the leadership of Honasa Consumer. Honasa Consumer will further deploy funds to expand its product offerings. 

Also, the acquisition will help Honasa Consumer strengthen its position in the personal care segment. Honasa Consumer further aims to make Dr. Sheth’s into an INR 100 Cr run rate brand in two years.

As a part of the deal, Dr. Aneesh Sheth will continue to lead the business and product innovation space of Dr. Sheth’s. 

The latest development comes after Mamaearth has allotted 136 Mn equity shares as bonus shares to its 12 investors, including founders in the ratio of 1:12,899. The total worth of the allotted bonus shares is estimated to be $17.4 Mn (INR 136.03 Cr). 

Founded in 2017 by Dr. Aneesh Sheth, Dr. Sheth’s is a skincare brand that creates products primarily for the Indian demographic. The brand is led by three generations namely Dr. Sharat C. Desai, Dr. Rekha Sheth and Dr. Aneesh Sheth. It claims to sell products through its D2C website and various other ecommerce marketplaces. 

As per the website, Dr. Sheth’s creates skin products to resolve skin problems such as acne, pigmentation, dry skin, aging and blackheads. It also sells products according to the consumers’ skin type.  

Founded in 2016 by Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh, Honasa Consumer leads various consumer brands such as Mamaearth, The Derma Co., Aqualogica and Ayuga. It counts

Sequoia Capital India, Sofina SA, Fireside Ventures, and  Stellaris Venture Partners as its investors. In February this year, Honasa Consumer acquired hair colour brand, BBLUNT for around INR 134 Cr. Under this deal, Honasa planned to acquire all salons of BBLUNT operated under the name, ‘Bhabani Blunt Hair Dressing’. 

Further, in December this year, Mamaearth acquired an online content community for mothers, Momspresso along with influencer platform Momspresso MyMoney for an undisclosed amount. 

During the same time frame, Honasa Consumer entered the unicorn club after securing over $37 Mn as part of its Series F funding round. Following this , its post-money valuation reached over $1.07 Bn.  

As per the regulatory filing, Honasa allotted a total of 839 Series F compulsory convertible preference shares to Sequoia Capital for INR 284 Cr. 

In July this year, Honasa Consumer reportedly raised $50 Mn in a funding round led by Sofina Ventures SA. The round saw participation from existing investor, Sequoia Capital India. 

As per an Inc42 report, the Indian beauty and personal care market is estimated to touch $37.5 Bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 12.5%. 

The segment has witnessed a slew of activities in recent times. In April this year, ecommerce giant Nykaa, which is operated by FSN E-commerce, acquired stake in three D2C brands – Earth Rhythm, Kica, and Nudge Wellness for an undisclosed amount. 

As per the deal, Nykaa would acquire an 18.5% stake in Gurugram-based skincare and haircare brand, Earth Rhythm for INR 41.65 Cr.

In January this year, Good Glamm Group picked up a majority stake in beauty and personal care startup, Organic Harvest. The deal would entail a capital infusion of INR 75 Cr in the beauty startup.