Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, the venture capital fund of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, has acquired a minority stake in the Indian personal care company LetsShave.

WHO: Founded in 2015 by Sidharth Oberoi, LetsShave is a direct-to-consumer model started as a brand catering to men’s grooming products that has evolved to include both men and women with more than 20 grooming products.

Bengaluru-based Wipro Consumer made the investment through its newly launched consumer-focused venture fund. The fund aims to increase its portfolio of start-ups in consumer brands and consumer-tech domains in India and Southeast Asia.

WHY: The funds will be used to expand product portfolio, increase retail footprint through Wipro touchpoints, and invest in technology to scale faster.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “They are a promising team and have the ability to understand consumer requirements, identify opportunities, and meet them in quick cycle time. This investment is in keeping with the company’s strategy of leveraging emerging online opportunities addressed towards the millennial population,” said Sumit Keshan, Managing Partner, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures.

Asawari Pawar, CMO LetsShave, said, “In the women’s shaving market, we have grown a lot faster than we initially thought, so we also plan to expand our women’s product portfolio under the brand LetsShave ‘Evior’ in an effort to continue to drive growth overall.”

Ken Kwak, managing director of Dorco, said, “The powerful combination of our high-quality products and LetsShave’s passionate team, digital marketing expertise, technical capabilities with Wipro’s deep knowledge and experience in the Indian market will help us to further reach the millennial population and together we’ll be able to create LetsShave an even stronger brand for Indian consumers.”

DETAILS:

• Wipro Consumer Care Ventures has acquired a minority stake in LetsShave.
• Existing investor Dorco, one of the largest razor manufacturers globally, has also increased its stake to 15% from 10% in the current investment round.
• Founded in 2015, the company partnered with Korean razor manufacturer Dorco Ltd for the supply of razors, which remain its core category. In 2018, Dorco Ltd invested an undisclosed amount against a 10% stake.
• This funding round brings the funding raised to more than Rs 30 crore, according to people aware of the matter.
• The company said it has a user base of over a half-million customers with a repeat rate of over 40% with approximately 90% of the sales generated from LetsShave’s own platform and 10% from other sources.