Kedaara leads $75m round for India's Purplle

Blume Ventures, which participated in Purplle’s seed round also took part, Purplle said in a statement. Blume is one of the company’s earliest investors, having backed its seed round, while Sequoia led the $45 million Series D.

It comes amid heady times for India beauty e-commerce. Nykaa is in the process of raising INR53.5 billion ($714 million) through a domestic IPO, which will deliver partial exits for TPG Growth and Lighthouse Funds. Anchor investors put in INR23.9 billion and then the public issue was fully subscribed on the first day of the offering.

MyGlamm, another rival platform, closed its Series C round in late July with INR5.3 billion in commitments. They included what is said to be one of the largest growth equity checks written by Accel Partners in India.

Founded in 2012, Purplle gained initial traction as an e-commerce marketplace, brokering transactions between brands and consumers. However, there was always a goal to leverage the data accumulated and build out direct-to-consumer private-label brands that resonate with locals.

The company offers nearly 50,000 products from 1,000 brands to seven million monthly active users. Monthly gross merchandise value is at an all-time high of INR1 billion and monthly net sales have reached INR650 million, CEO Manish Taneja told The Economic Times.

Vikram Gupta, founder and managing partner at IvyCap, an investor in Purplle, noted to AVCJ after the Series D that introducing the private-label business in 2015 was instrumental in making the company capital-efficient and profitable. One-third of sales now come from in-house brands, led by Good Vibes.

Purplle will use the new funding to launch offline stores, a strategy already pursued by Nykaa and MyGlamm. Kedaara is expected to contribute retail expertise from investments in the likes of Vishal Mega Mart and Lenskart. Bolt-on acquisitions may also become a theme. Nykaa and MyGlamm have both acquired smaller brands in recent months.

"With this investment, we will strengthen our technological capabilities, deepen our talent pool, introduce new and innovative products and brands, invest in entrepreneurs building differentiated beauty offerings, and create a treasure chest for potential acquisitions," Taneja said.

IvyCap first backed Purplle in a Series A round in 2015. This was followed by a JSW Ventures-led Series B in 2016 and a Goldman Sachs-led $30 million Series C in 2019. Verlinvest also took part in the Series C alongside various existing investors. IvyCap has exposure to the company through two funds. It exited the Fund I position in the Series C, securing a 22x return.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Expansion
• Technology
• Consumer
• India
• e-commerce
• TMT
• Kedaara Capital
• Sequoia Capital
• Blume Ventures
• Growth capital