Beauty brand Plum has raised ₹270 crore (about $35 million) in a Series C funding round led by A91 Partners. The round also saw participation from existing investors Unilever Ventures and Faering Capital. Subsequent to this fund raise round, Abhay Pandey from A91 Partners will be joining the board of Plum.
The brand said that it will utilise the fresh capital to further strengthen its omni-channel presence, build new categories, enhance R&D capabilities, and add high-quality talent with a focus on investments in marketing and technology. The toxin-free beauty and personal care brand has presence across channels and categories such as skin care, hair care, body care, male grooming care as well as make-up.
Shankar Prasad, CEO and Founder, Plum, said, “The latest investment will help us accelerate our growth path, not only in our core skincare category, but also in adjacent large categories like hair care, make-up, body care and specialist care for men. In doing so, we want to bring alive our brand ethos of ‘being good’ in as many different and delightful ways as possible.” He added that the company aims to double the current ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) of over ₹225 crore in the next 12 months.
So far the brand has raised over $50 million from consumer-focused institutional investors. Since its first funding round in late 2018, the brand said it has grown nearly 15x, emerging as one of the fastest-growing brands in the new-age beauty space. Besides the key e-commerce marketplaces, Plum is also available in over 250 towns and cities in India, through nearly 1,000 assisted retail outlets, and over 10,000 unassisted outlets – growing month-on-month. Recently, the brand roped in Mithila Palkar as its brand ambassador.
‘Loyal customer base’
In a statement, Abhay Pandey, General Partner, A91 Partners, said, “Plum’s relentless focus on product and brand in a noisy space of new-age consumer brands positions it uniquely to build an enduring business and A91 is privileged to be a partner in this journey.”
Sameer Shroff, Co-founder & Managing Partner at Faering Capital, added, “Since our initial investment over a year ago, Plum has demonstrated strong growth across all its categories, channels, and most importantly its loyal customer base. We are delighted to strengthen our partnership as Shankar and team build one of the best clean-beauty brands in the country.”
Spark Capital advised Plum on the transaction.
