Shilpa Shetty Kundra Invests INR 6 Cr In D2C Ecommerce Unicorn Mamaearth

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra has invested another INR 6 Cr in D2C ecommerce startup Mamaearth. 

As per the startup’s regulatory filing accessed by Inc42, its board, in an extraordinary general meeting held on August 31, approved allotment of 2,30,435 equity shares to Shilpa Shetty Kundra for INR 6.04 Cr. 

The Bollywood actor already held a stake in the Gazal and Varun Alagh-led Mamaearth. She first invested in the startup in 2018, when it used to offer only babycare products.

Besides, Shetty also appears in several commercials of Mamaearth. 

Earlier this year, Mamaearth approved allotting bonus shares to its 13 shareholders in the ratio of 1:12,899, meaning it would allot 12,899 equity shares to investors and founders for every equity share held by them. 

Shetty owned 108 equity shares of the startup till then, which became 13,93,200. 

A number of Bollywood actors have been investing in D2C startups of late. Besides Shetty, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Sharma have also invested in different D2C startups.

Mamaearth, founded in 2016 by the husband-wife duo of Gazal and Varun, initially sold babycare products. Later, the startup started selling beauty products such as night cream, body lotion, toner, among others. It entered the unicorn club earlier this year after raising $52 Mn in a round led by Sequoia Capital. The funding round also saw participation from BYJU’s backer Sofina Ventures, and UAE-based Evolvence. 

To date, Mamaearth has raised close to $110 Mn in multiple rounds. It is now aiming for a public listing in 2023, and plans to raise $300 Mn-$330 Mn at a valuation of $3 Bn. 

Mamaearth competes with the likes of SUGAR Cosmetics, Wow Skincare, Juicy Chemistry, Nykaa, and Plum. 

As per an Inc42 report, D2C is the fastest-growing segment in the country’s ecommerce sector. The D2C brands are expected to account for 25% of the $100 Bn market size of the ecommerce sector by 2025.