Indian beauty brand MyGlamm raised INR 175 Cr ($23.5 million) in a Series C funding round led by Ascent Capital, Amazon, and Wipro Consumer. This is reportedly the largest capital raise by any D2C beauty brand in India in a single round, and values the company at $100 million.

WHO: Founded in 2017 by Darpan Sanghvi, MyGlamm is an omnichannel beauty brand offering a range of more than 600 cruelty-free and vegan products across makeup, skincare, and personal care. The brand started online but currently boasts over 10,000 offline points of sale across 70 cities in India. Last year the brand opened a 3,000-sq-ft interactive flagship that is six times larger than the average Indian beauty store.

WHY: MyGlamm will use the capital raised to invest in product development, technological infrastructure, offline expansion, and working capital. The start-up will enhance influencer capabilities and consolidate the reach of its digital platforms, POPxo and Plixxo.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “It is extremely exciting to have Ascent Capital, a prolific investor in the Indian consumer internet space, along with two incredible investors with strong experience in building brands, Amazon and Wipro Consumer, join our cap table. Through L’Occitane’s investment in MyGlamm, I have experienced first-hand the value that such investors can bring to a start-up. And we are really excited about all that we will be able to learn from both, Amazon and Wipro Consumer along with the financial rigour that Ascent Capital brings, as we move forward to fulfil our vision of building India’s largest beauty company leveraging DTC, digital, and data,” said Darpan Sanghvi, founder and CEO, MyGlamm, in a statement.

Priyanka Gill, co-founder & President, MyGlamm, adds “When POPxo-Plixxo was acquired by MyGlamm in August 2020, Darpan and I laid out an ambitious roadmap. Not only did we meet our goals ahead of plan, but we surpassed them. Now, with this fundraise, we will further invest in enhancing our content and influencer capabilities to not only build out MyGlamm as India’s largest beauty company but also consolidate POPxo as India’s leading digital destination for women and Plixxo as India’s most engaging influencer platform.”

”Amazon remains committed to backing homegrown startups and brands that share our customer focus and belief in accelerating their growth through digital commerce,” said Manish Tiwary, Vice President of Amazon India. “We are excited by the innovative products and brand experience that MyGlamm brings to Indian customers in a high-salience category like beauty which is deeply personal to customers.”

“We have been tracking MyGlamm for over 15 months and are very impressed with the way they handled COVID uncertainty as well as built strong internal capabilities including POPxo acquisition,” Wipro Consumer Managing Partner Sumit Keshan said.

DETAILS:

• MyGlamm has raised INR 175 Cr ($23.5 million) in a Series C funding round led by Ascent Capital, Amazon, and Wipro Consumer.
• With this round, MyGlamm becomes the fastest beauty brand to cross the $100 million valuation mark in just three years of launch.
• MyGlamm backers include Bessemer Venture Partners, L’Occitane, Manekar Family Office, Tano Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Kalaari Capital, and Neoplux Venture Capital.
• This is the first investment Amazon has made in an Indian consumer brand, but it has been active in Indian financial and tech services providers, as well as large retailers, such as Shoppers Stop and Future Group. This investment gives Amazon a foot in the door of the burgeoning Indian personal care and beauty segment.
• In 2019, MyGlamm reportedly grew 400%. MyGlamm came out of COVID-19 with revenues that were nearly 200% of pre-COVID levels while also achieving EBITDA profitability.
• According to VCCEdge, MyGlamm raised around INR 33 Cr in June 2020 by issuing Series B preference shares to investors including Tano Capital, L’Occitane, and Bessemer Venture Partners. In February last year, it raised around INR 12 Cr from venture debt firm Trifecta Capital.
• In June 2019, the brand raised $14.42 million in a round led by Bessemer and Mankekar Family Office with participation by L’Occitane.
• In 2016 MyGlamm raised $6 million in Series A funding from L’Occitane International, Tano Capital, and Brand Capital.
• MyGlamm acquired women-centric digital platform POPxo to expand into the online content space in August 2020.