Sirona Forays Into Sexual Wellness Category With The Acquisition Of Bleu

Feminine hygiene startup Sirona has forayed into the sexual wellness category with the acquisition of vegan condom brand Bleü. Without disclosing the financial contours of the deal, Sirona said that the transaction was executed in an all-cash deal.

As per the company, the move is in line with Sirona’s goal of scaling up its ecosystem of feminine care and entering new categories to fuel growth. The acquisition will enable Bleu to tap into Sirona’s resources to further scale its offering and operations.

With this acquisition, Sirona plans to shore up Bleu’s business by 10X on ecommerce marketplaces and D2C channels by March 2025. The startup is eyeing making Bleu an INR 100 Cr brand by March 2025, which would contribute 15-20% of Sirona’s overall sales by FY25.

Sirona cofounder Deep Bajaj told Inc42 that the deal will see Bleü cofounder transition out of her role as the mentor of the startup over the next three months as Sirona executives take over the reins of the sexual wellness startup. 

“… With this acquisition, we add India’s first vegan condoms to our portfolio… Bleü condoms talk to women, which is what caught our attention. Bleü is made keeping in mind women and their needs. Komal has put in a lot of hard work in creating this brand, has customer validation and we hope to scale it further,” said Bajaj.

Chiming in, Bleu Condoms founder Komal Baldwa said, “This acquisition is a significant milestone for us, as it allows us to leverage Sirona’s extensive expertise and resources to expand reach and impact… We are excited about the future and the opportunities that lie ahead as we embark on this new chapter with Sirona.”

In response to a question from Inc42’s the two cofounders said that the acquisition was guided by synergies between the two brands, adding that the move had nothing to do with the ongoing hectic M&A activity in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

This is Sirona’s second major acquisition in the past more than a year. In February 2022, the femtech brand acquired pepper spray brand IMPOWER in an all-cash deal. 

Founded in 2015 by Deep Bajaj, Sirona offers a range of products targeted at feminine hygiene ranging from PeeBuddy to a range of menstrual cups. It also retails products such as herbal pain relief patches, period stain remover, and sanitary napkins. 

Curiously, the development comes a couple of months after the femtech brand announced an INR 5 Cr ESOP buyback program for its employees. The stock plan announcement came even as Sirona reported a revenue of INR 43.6 Cr against a loss of INR 14.5 Cr in FY22. 

Sirona claims to have sold more than 10 Lakh menstrual cups and over 30 Lakh PeeBuddy urination devices. The femtech brand joined the content-to-commerce major Good Glamm Group in December 2021 after the latter invested INR 100 Cr in the former.

Founded in 2019 by Komal Baldwa, Bleu Condoms sells sexual wellness products targeted largely at women. Bleu claims that its products are free from chemicals and safer than ‘many products available in the market.’

The news comes as the homegrown femtech market witnesses further adoption on the back of growing awareness, percolation of technology and growing demand for women’s healthcare products. As a result, a clutch of femtech brands have made a niche in the space. 

This has been reflected in the funding deals in the space, which appear to have seen a slight decline amid the ongoing funding winter. Earlier this month, healthtech startup Bonatra acquired women’s wellness startup MyAva for an undisclosed amount. 

In April, women-focused career engagement platform HerKey picked up $4 Mn from Kalaari, 360 One Asset and other angel investors. Prior to that, Ayurveda-based D2C femtech startup Gynoveda secured $10 Mn in a Series A funding round led by India Alternatives Fund. 

As per the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI), the homegrown femtech market is projected to grow to a market size of $4 Bn by 2024.