Purplle Hits Final Close Of Series F Round At INR 1,500 Cr

Beauty ecommerce unicorn Purplle has wrapped up its Series F funding round at INR 1,500 Cr (about $178.5 Mn) with backing from investors, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Premji Invest and Blume Ventures, among others.

In July, Inc42 reported that Purplle raised INR 1,000 Cr in its Series F funding round led by ADIA in a mix of primary equity infusion and secondary share sale.

Now, the Mumbai-based omnichannel beauty retailer has secured an additional cheque of INR 500 Cr with Sharrp Ventures also joining the cap table. This takes the total Series F funding raised by Purplle to INR 1,500 Cr.

The startup plans to utilise the fresh funds to grow its online platform and scale offline stores while improving profitability.

Founded in 2012 by Manish Taneja and Rahul Dash, Purplle sells a wide range of beauty, personal care, skincare and cosmetics products, typically catering to households in Tier-II & III towns. Most of its gross merchandise value (GMV) comes from smaller cities such as Mysore, Coimbatore, Kochi, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Siliguri.

Purplle’s private label play — built around acquisitions of D2C brands such as Faces Canada, Carmesi and Good Vibes — has helped the company carve a niche for itself in India’s fast-growing beauty and personal care market.

In contrast, its competitors Nykaa and Meesho and Tata Cliq have looked to build a premium-focussed product portfolio through partnerships with coveted brands.

“As we continue to innovate and leverage our technology and data capabilities to deliver the best omnichannel experience to our customers, this latest round of investments reaffirms the importance of our vision to make every Indian feel beautiful,” said Taneja.

This comes amid reports that Purplle is preparing to go public in 2025 or 2026. While Purplle managed to cut its net loss to INR 124 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY23), down 46% year-on-year from INR 230 Cr loss it posted a year ago, it still remains a loss-making entity.

However, Purplle’s revenue inched closer towards the INR 700 Cr mark during the year under review. The startup reported an operating revenue of INR 679.6 Cr in FY24, an increase of 43% from INR 475 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Purplle’s latest funding comes at a time when investors are taking a shine to the Indian beauty and personal care industry, which is projected to reach a market size of $30 Bn by 2027.

In June, D2C beauty brand RENEE Cosmetics raised INR 100 Cr (around $11.9 Mn) in its Series B1 funding round co-led by existing backers Evolvence India and Edelweiss Group. 

The month also saw personal care major Lotus Herbals floating a $50 Mn fund to invest in early stage startups in the beauty category.

Recently, Deepika Padukone’s D2C personal care startup 82°E was also said to be looking to raise INR 50 Cr (around $6 Mn) as a part of its extended seed funding round.

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