Scentials is a Mumbai-based beauty and wellness brands studio platform which has recently announced to have raised USD 6 million funding in its latest Series B funding round from TIW Private Equity, an India-based SME focused private equity fund.
Founded back in 2018 by former Indian Tennis player turned entrepreneur Mahesh Bhupathi and Jinesh Mehta, Scentials is a unique beauty brands studio platform in India that bridges across multiple innovations made in beauty and wellness categories with endorsements from celebrities, entertainers and influential people in entertainment, film and sports sector. The reason behind celebrity endorsements is the followed popularity and social media reach which is a traditional yet very effective way of growing the brand.
Having said that, when asked about the latest funding, the company mentioned utilizing these newly infused funds to further expand its product offerings and strengthen its distribution chain across India.
According to the company profile on CrunchBase, this is the company’s third funding since its inception. Scentials successfully raised USD 30 million funding from Ambika Subramanian back in May 2020 and prior to that it had raised USD 250 million in its Series A round led by Unilever Ventures.
Mahesh Bhupathi, Co-founder, Scentials commented on this recent fundraise saying that building a beauty business with influencers have created a huge impact and lot of value in the West. He further added that after receiving funding from Unilever Venture, the start-up is proud to have been backed by TIW Private Equity who have believed in this opportunity in India. He concluded his statement by saying that Scentials will continue exploring growth categories.
As mentioned in a report by YourStory, Mohit Ralhan, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner at TIW Private Equity says that Scentials offers a powerful and unique proposition with brands which are envisioned and endorsed by top tier celebrities. He mentions that Scentials offer superior quality products which are crafted by a team of experts. He further added that from this point onwards, the company can grow exponentially and become India’s leading personal care, beauty and wellness business.
CrunchBase report mentions that Scentials has till date raised total funding worth USD 10 million in over three financing rounds. The start-up is known to design, manufacture and distributes beauty and wellness products such as skin care, deodorants, fragrances and other categories through several celebrity-driven brands.
Beauty and wellness businesses have gained a lot of traction in India in the past few years. With people becoming more brand conscious in the era of influential social media and influencers, customer priorities have changed drastically and this is where good marketing plays a key role.
