Quadria Capital Acquires Stake in Hygiene Products Maker Nobel Hygiene

Nobel Hygiene, India’s largest private manufacturer of disposable hygiene products has raised funds from Quadria Capital. PE investors CLSA Capital Partners and Access India fund and its co-investors have exited their investment. With this round, Quadria Capital now becomes the largest minority shareholder in the company.

Total investment is around INR 400-500 Cr, out of which 50 Cr is for primary.

Founded in 2000 by Kamal Johari, Noble Hygiene offers global quality hygiene products customised according to Indian body type. It was India’s first maker of adult diapers and today has over 50% of the market share in the adult disposable hygiene space.

In the last two decades, the company has expanded its portfolio to also cater to baby and feminine hygiene products. The company claims to have grown by over five-fold in the last five years maintaining a 35% CAGR and closed FY 21 with a revenue of close to INR 600 Cr. It is targeting revenue upwards of INR 800 Cr in FY 22 and around INR 1000 Cr in FY23.

Kamal Johari, managing director and CEO, Nobel Hygiene said, “We are delighted to begin this new phase in Nobel’s journey. While the funds come just in time to help us further accelerate our growth plan, we continue to grow on the strength of our own P&L with minimal primary money. With the per capita income of Indians climbing towards $3000, we expect a substantial jump in discretionary spending by Indians, which will result in substantial growth in the hygiene market also. With our current expansion in Halol (Gujarat), in conjunction with a slew of hires made in our leadership team, we are rightly placed to take advantage of this market expansion.”

The company provides products across adult (Friends), baby (Teddyy) and feminine disposable hygiene products. Nobel Hygiene’s range of products are available on both offline and online platforms and are available across 200,000 retail outlets. Currently, Nobel Hygiene produces over 1 Bn diapers and underpads annually across both the adult and baby categories.

With an already existing high demand among users, the role of the healthcare industry will increase in the post-Covid 19 world. Consumer-buying behaviour has shifted tremendously after the Covid-19 impact and nowhere is this more apparent than in the personal hygiene and sanitary products space. According to  Inc42 Plus, the personal healthcare market in India was valued at $11.5 Bn in 2019 and is expected to cross$15 Bn by 2023. This industry constitutes nearly 46% market share of the total beauty and personal care industry in India in 2019.