Omnichannel beauty company SUGAR Cosmetics said it closed its $50 million Series D fundraise led by the Asia fund of consumer-focussed private equity firm L Catterton, at a time when Indian consumers are spending more on beauty and personal care products.
SUGAR, which is popular amongst Gen Z and Millennial consumers who are increasingly making cosmetics and skincare a part of their daily repertoire and experimenting with different types of products, also saw participation from existing investors – A91 Partners, Elevation Capital and India Quotient- in its latest funding round.
A source told DealStreetAsia that the round values Vineeta Singh-led SUGAR at $500 million. The company refused to confirm this number when contacted by DealStreetAsia.
Singh, who founded SUGAR in 2015, became popular after participating as a judge in Shark Tank India – a show that invested in business ideas. The show also brought other founders of startups to the limelight, such as BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover, Boat co-founder Aman Gupta and Shadi.com founder Anupam Mittal.
Last week, Singh said SUGAR is eyeing an IPO by year 2024 or 2025, at the ETRetail Summit.
SUGAR, which sells products in lips, eyes, face, nails & skin categories across the world, got its latest funding at a time when India’s beauty and personal care industry has witnessed tremendous growth, as a result of nifty social-media marketing, the sudden influx of e-commerce retailers focused on the beauty segment and an inclination towards organic and ethical brands.
According to Euromonitor International, the beauty and personal care products industry crossed $400 million in internet sales, up from $100 million in 2014.
Last year, Nykaa’s public listing and Amazon-backed MyGlamm’s entry into the coveted unicorn club signaled a new phase in the D2C beauty segment, a space also crowded by smaller players such as Purplle, Mamaearth, Plum, WOW Skin Science, and others.
With about $33 billion of equity capital across its fund strategies and 17 offices around the world, L Catterton’s current and past investments in the space include Il Makiage, Intercos, The Honest Company, TULA, Bliss, Ci FLAVORS, ELEMIS, ETVOS, Function of Beauty, Marubi, MERIT, and Sociolla, among others.