BENGALURU: If you are not selling online, you are missing out—this is what investors and company founders are saying these days. And for the beauty industry, there has never been a more opportune time than this to sell online. With the Covid menace still looming large, people are reluctant to shop from brick and mortar outlets, leading many brands to venture online to reach out to consumers beyond the metros.
The flourishing new ecosystem of influencer marketing, content creation, and omni-channel commerce tools has given also business models in the sector a makeover of sorts. The interest generated by the segment is being reflected in big-name investors such as e-commerce giant Amazon, investment firm Sequoia capital, and Wipro Consumers betting big on such brands recently.
On Tuesday, online platform purplle.com said it has raised $45 million from Verlinvest, Sequoia Capital India, Blume Ventures, and JSW Ventures. The investment, it said, will bolster the brand’s ambition to deliver 8-10X growth in the next 4-5 years. One of the puplle.com’s earliest backers, Ivycap ventures, exited the startup with 22x gains.
Last week, rival MyGlamm had raised `175 crore from investors including Amazon, Wipro Consumer, and Ascent Capital to fuel the expansion of its retail platform as well as its digital content channel Popxo. Market leader Nykaa , on the other hand is eyeing an IPO this year with a valuation of over $3 billion. Industry data indicates that the segment has seen a 40-60% YoY business growth in FY21 and a combined investment of $100 million.