In a recent development, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever is eyeing to acquire Peak XV Partners-backed Jaipur-based skincare startup- Minimalist for Rs 3000 crore.
This development comes three years after the D2C skincare major had raised Rs 110 crore from Unilever Ventures, the venture investing arm of the British major- Unilever which runs HUL in India, to scale its business.
If this deal goes through, Minimalist, which has been profitable for about four years now and had generated a revenue of Rs 350 crore in FY24, up 89% YoY from FY23’s Rs 184 crore, as per reports, will see its valuation rising from Rs 630 crore to Rs 3000 crore in just three years.
This valuation increase is likely to come on the back of increasing revenues and a stability in its profits, owing to its financial discipline. That said, according to several media reports, Minimalist is currently commanding a revenue multiple of about 10X.
However, it’s usual for FMCG majors to acquire D2C brands as part of their strategic investments. Some such examples include Marico acquiring Beardo, ITC- Yoga Bar, Emami- Helios Lifestyle, etc.
Unlike Minimalist which is currently multiplying its revenues multifold, the other D2C companies acquired by FMCG majors were mostly a result of founders not being able to scale up their businesses beyond a point and therefore their companies being available at a steep discount to FMCG majors.
At its launch, several people had argued that Minimalist was quite similar to The Ordinary owing to its clean ‘minimalist’ packaging.
