Vertex leads $20m round for India D2C beauty player

Fireside Ventures and Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office also joined the round. It follows an approximately USD 2m Series A led by Fireside in 2021 and featuring Rukam Capital.

The company said in a social media post that the funding would help propel it to INR 10bn (USD 120m) in annual recurring revenue by 2025. It added that this would include a strong focus on R&D.

Launched in 2019, Pilgrim offers products ranging from shampoos and conditioners to hair and face care creams and masks, as well as sunscreens, body lotions, and several lip care products. It brands itself as free of harmful and toxic chemicals.

“This is fairly a new concept for the Indian audience. We’re bringing ingredients from the country of origin. That's the USP [unique selling position] of our brand,” Pilgrim co-founder Gagandeep Makker told Forbes.

VVSEAI closed its fifth early-stage fund earlier this month with USD 541m in commitments, beating a target of USD 450m. Its preceding fund had raised USD 305m in 2019.

The firm's standout investment activity in Indian consumer brands includes omnichannel retailer Ace Turtle and D2C meat supplier Licious. The latter, which is separately backed by Temasek, was valued at USD 1.6bn as of last year.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Early-stage
• India
• Vertex Ventures
• Fireside Ventures
• e-commerce
• beauty & personal care