Mahesh Bhupathi co-founded beauty brand Scentials has raised Rs 25 crore in fresh funding led by Unilever Ventures as it looks to expand its range of offerings by partnering with more celebrities in the coming months.
Scentials partners with popular celebrities and sportspersons to launch products in the beauty and fragrances space, emulating a model that has worked well in markets such as the US and Europe.
In January the firm launched fragrance brand one8 in partnership with Virat Kohli followed by the launch of skin care brand Arias along with Lara Dutta. The company said it will also launch a makeup line endorsed by Malaika Arora ahead of Diwali this year.
“There have been multiple success stories with celebrity beauty brands and licenses in the west and with our product and distribution offering we feel we are able to offer the celebrity an opportunity to create serious value,” said Bhupathi.
Scentials products are today available across large format retail stores such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Health & Glow and More Supermarkets, and online through Amazon.in. The company said it will bring its products to more stores in the near future, without disclosing any names.
“Scentials is building a unique beauty brands studio platform that combines fast paced innovations across beauty categories with endorsements from top tier Indian celebrities in sports, films and entertainment,” said Pawan Chaturvedi, Investment Director at Unilever Ventures. “The celebrity partnerships provide massive traditional and social media reach driving brand salience.”
The company said it would also introduce new lines and limited edition products in the beauty space as it looks to grow.
