SUMMARY
As part of the deal, Fireside Ventures’ PartnerDipanjan Basu will join the board of Nat Habit
The startup will use the funding to increase its channel presence and foray into the offline space. Nat Habit will also use the capital infusion to expand categories and add more products
The startup claims to have delivered products to more than 2.5 Lakh customers across the country
Personal care brand Nat Habit has raised $4 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures with participation from existing investors.
The capital infusion will also see Dipanjan Basu, partner at Fireside Ventures, joining the board of Nat Habit. As part of the deal, many of the existing angel investors have exited the startup.
Nat Habit will use the funding to increase its channel presence and foray into the offline space. It will also use the capital infusion to expand product categories and add more products to its kitty. The startup also plans to use the funding to scale up its business and invest more in technology and marketing.
“The brand was largely built online using social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to draw shoppers. The fresh funds will be used to increase channel presence including presence in offline stores, expand categories, and invest behind marketing, technology,” Nat Habit cofounder Gaurav Agarwal said.
Founded in 2019 by Swagatika Das and Agarwal, Nat Habit offers organic skincare products such as hair oils, masks, scrubs and face creams. The startup also has offerings that include products based on home remedies such as ubtans, hair masks and other hair and bath products.
The startup claims to have so far raised $2 Mn in its seed rounds. Nat Habit is backed by big names such as Whiteboard Capital as well as CEOs and founders of consumer-facing brands such as Paper Boat’s Neeraj Kakkar, Spencer’s Retail’s Devendra Chawla, Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahal and Rohit Bansal, and Yogabar’s Suhasini Sampath.
The personal care brand was bootstrapped in its nascent stages and was incubated at Sequoia Surge in March last year.
The startup leverages social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to drive business and growth. The digital-first startup claims that nearly 90% of its revenue comes from its own website. With an eye on expanding its channel presence, Nat Habit recently made its debut on other ecommerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Tata Cliq and Meesho.
Speaking about this, Agarwal said, “We feel, from the growth perspective, a lot can be driven by the marketplaces. Once we hit a run rate of INR 100 Cr, then we should start focusing our energies on the offline space.”
Speaking about its future plans, Das said that the startup plans to grow into an ‘INR 1,000 Cr natural living brand’ in the next five years.
Nat Habit claims to have delivered products to more than 2.5 Lakh customers across the country. The startup says it sells 2.5 Mn units a year, and the biggest chunk of its clients belong to the age group of 25 years to 45 years.
A recent Inc42 report said that the number of online beauty shoppers in the country could soar to more than 122 Mn by FY2025. In addition, the addressable market for D2C brands in the beauty and personal care space is likely to grow to $5.6 Bn by 2025.
This change has mostly been brought about by a boom in online shopping and availability of better and affordable choices for customers online.According to a Redseer report, the demand has also been fueled by rising disposable income, demand for enhanced products and an increasing desire to look good.
The Indian startups in this segment have recently been seeing a lot of interest. Earlier last month, D2C beauty brand Plum raised $35 Mn in its Series C funding round led by A91 Partners. Single-ingredient D2C personal care startup mCaffeine also raised more than $31 Mn in March as part of its Series C funding round led by Paragon Partners.
