Purplle closes Rs 1,000 crore funding deal led by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

Beauty retailer Purplle has closed a Rs 1,000-crore ($120 million) round led by sovereign fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), signalling a revival in big-ticket funding for Indian startups as well as a rising interest in the fast-growing consumer sector.

There may also be another tranche as part of this round, “but that’s yet to be finalised,” according to people aware of details. They said the deal includes both, a primary component and “70-80% of the funding in secondary share sale, (where) money has changed hands between two investors.” Indian family offices have come in as new shareholders, with initial angel investors and backers such as Goldman Sachs and Verlinvest partially selling stakes, said people involved in the deal. ET on April 4 reported a proposed $100-million infusion in Purplle.

ET on June 12 wrote that ADIA would lead this round.

Purplle is now valued at $1.3 billion, said the people cited earlier.

“(Bulk) of the primary capital raised through this round will be invested in technology and to experiment further with the offline store formats for retail expansion,” said Manish Taneja, chief executive of Purplle.


The 13-year-old beauty retailer’s deal adds to the increasing number of $100 million-plus investments, including secondary share sales, this fiscal, signalling a recovery for fast-growing firms after a prolonged funding winter.

It also underlines growing investor interest in the beauty space, where several companies —size notwithstanding — have raised significant funding in recent months. This included the likes of Foxtale, Traya Health and Renee Cosmetics.

Larger names include Nykaa that continues to scale and gain investor interest since its listing in 2021, and Reliance’s Tira, which launched its first skincare brand, Akind, last month.

Flipkart-owned ecommerce player Myntra is also sharpening its beauty focus as part of its diversification drive.

Not Just Skin Deep

Purplle’s Taneja attributes the continued investor interest to good business growth. “We broke even at an adjusted ebitda level about nine months ago,” he told ET. “Our business has grown twice the rate of beauty ecommerce, and the top leadership has remained the same over the years. These things have played a role in the round.”

The startup, which also counts Premji Invest and Manipal group chief Ranjan Pai among its investors, will continue to be technology-first in its approach as it looks to widen its reach across tier II-III.

“It (technology) is like our operating system. We have around 10-odd stores, but we are still finding the product-market fit, and nothing has been proven yet. We are testing multiple models — mall store, high street store in a tier I vs tier II city, and so on,” the CEO said.

Purplle has six inhouse labels, including Faces Canada, female hygiene brand Carmesi and hair care brand Alps Goodness, which are also available through various offline distribution channels.

Industry executives say nearly half of Purplle’s business comes from its own brands, but Taneja declined to comment on total contributions. He said the company is considering a public listing over the next three years, though it could be on the earlier side.

Experts estimate that Rs 400-500 crore of beauty brands will come up in India over the next couple of years.

In March, Mamaearth parent Honasa Consumer launched the low-cost Staze 9to9. Its active ingredients-backed skincare brand, The Derma Co, achieved an annual revenue run rate of Rs 500 crore in April.

Purplle also announced its largest employee stock ownership plan (Esop) buyback programme, which will offer liquidity of Rs 50 crore to its employees.