Globalbees, Mamaearth parent turn unicorns
MUMBAI: Brand aggregator Globalbees Brands Pvt. Ltd and Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd, the owner of the Mamaearth brand, turned unicorns, or privately held companies valued at more than a billion dollars, after their respective fundraisings, indicating fund flows to Indian startups remain buoyant.
Softbank-backed Globalbees, which acquires and helps scale up e-commerce brands, raised $111.5 million in a funding round led by Premji Invest, valuing the company at $1.1 billion, the company said on Wednesday.
Steadview Capital and existing investors Softbank and baby products company Firstcry participated in the round.
It became the 43th Indian company to join the unicorn club in 2021.
Honasa, which also owns The Derma Co brand, raised about $37 million as part of its Series F funding round, making it the 44th startup to achieve unicorn status.
The fundraising values Honasa at $1.07 billion, according to Vccircle estimates, based on filings made with the registrar of companies. The latest funding was led by Sequoia Capital, according to regulatory filings.
Globalbees said it plans to use the proceeds from its fundraising to strengthen its product portfolio, innovation, enhance customer experience, hire employees, and scale its own brands. The company said it is in advanced talks with 20 firms to acquire their brands. It has been on an acquisition spree lately, buying as many as eight brands since August.
Five of these came in November alone, when the company acquired the majority stake in dietary supplements maker Healthyhey, hair care brand Rey Naturals and eyewear brand Intellilens for undisclosed amounts. In addition, Globalbees added Yellow Chimes, a fashion jewellery brand and Absorbia, a home care brand, to its portfolio in the same month.
Honasa, on the other hand, raised funds for expansion of its business and to fund operations, according to regulatory filings. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.
The company raised $50 million in July from European investment firm Sofina Ventures SA and Sequoia Capital, which had then valued the personal care products company at a $730 million valuation.
Honasa has a portfolio of around 140 products under Mamaearth and more than 40 products under The Derma Co.
It had also said that it wanted to pursue the brand aggregation model, similar to Globalbees.
The strategy is getting popular with such startups acquiring brands aggressively to expand product offerings. Vccircle recently reported that Good Glamm Group, the parent of Myglamm, is in talks to invest in male grooming brand Ustraa.