On-demand beauty, wellness and fitness app Zapluk announced its merger with Chennai-based salon service Pamperazi. Zapluk is operated by Hyderabad-based Zapforce Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Zapluk allows customers to order beauty services at home, based on their individual preferences and customer satisfaction ratings of each beautician. In December 2015, the startup raised an angel funding from a group of investors including Alok Sharma, former CEO of Apple India.
The startup was founded in 2015 by Manan Maheshwari (an MBA from Duke University and BITS Pilani), Lavanya Hariharan (an M.Litt in International Business from the University of St. Andrews) and Mahesh Gogineni (an MBA from Stanford and BITS Pilani). Whereas, home salon service Pamperazi was founded by Lavanya Iyer in August 2015. Currently doing over 1500 services per month, the merger promises to offer its customers a gamut of services in Chennai and Hyderabad at extremely affordable prices.
Zapluk is at an advanced stage of negotiations for another round of funding, following which it plans to expand into 4 cities. Zapluk believes that its robust, flexible and innovative technology will allow them for a seamless launch at a national level. The team is also looking at innovative partnerships to scale their operations.
The on-demand beauty and wellness service industry has seen exponential growth in the last six months for service opportunities and has become a fertile ground for professional startups. According to a KPMG report, beauty and wellness industry in India will be worth $13 Bn by 2017. The merged entity will see fierce competition from other flourishing startups like Vyomo, Purplle, Zenoti, Belita, Mazkara, Stayglad and Nykaa.
YouWeCan Ventures-backed Vyomo recently raised about $15 Mn (INR 100Cr) in Series A round of funding led by salon chain Naturals. Nykaa is also in talks of raising a funding.
