Purplle.com Closes $140 Mn Series D Round Adding Premji Invest To Cap Table

Online beauty platform Purplle.com has raised $65 million, bringing Premji Invest, the investment arm of Wipro billionaire Azim Premji, to the cap table. This investment comes weeks after a $75 million funding, led by Kedaara Capital, alongside Sequoia Capital India and Blume Ventures. The infusion will accelerate the company’s growth to build a multibillion-dollar company from India. The company said it has closed $140 Million Series D funding after the investment from Premji Invest.

The funding is also expected to help Purplle compete with traditional players and online beauty platforms such as Nykaa, MyGlamm and Myntra.

“We are very pleased to welcome Premji Invest to our cap table. The investment will leapfrog our efforts to offer women personalised beauty experiences, expand our wide range of innovative products, and drive penetration across the country,” said Manish Taneja, co-founder, and CEO, Purplle.com. “We plan to rapidly scale our private brands business and continue to build differentiated beauty brands with entrepreneurs. We will leverage exclusive Indian and international brand partnerships and fast-track acquisitions.”

Within the year, the company grew its brands to over 1000 with over 50,000 products across categories like make-up, skincare, haircare, personal care, fragrances, and grooming appliances. With a strong focus on new customer acquisition, the company grew its marketing investments by 2X to build brand Purplle. While doubling new customer acquisition, Purplle has very strong retention with 65-70 per cent of revenue coming from returning users. Elite, Purplle’s loyalty programme, contributes to 25 per cent of the platform’s revenue.

“Investments in content and community will be a key focus,” said Taneja. “We have nurtured some of the sharpest minds and will continue to build talent. With this strong year, we are well-positioned to build one of the largest beauty tech company from India.”

Atul Gupta, Partner at Premji Invest, said democratising beauty will continue to be a dominant theme in India and customers today are looking for products that specifically cater to their skin and personal health and enhance their beauty.

“Purplle continues to build on that promise by integrating the requirements of the customer through careful analysis of customer usage data with unique and differentiated products and a great customer experience,” said Gupta.

Technology has been a significant growth driver and Purplle will continue to invest aggressively in advancements. This, through building customised beauty profiles, virtual try-ons and recommendations through virtual beauty advisors, enabling personalisation of the online beauty journey.

Since its launch in 2012, Purplle has built a community-led platform backed by great quality, affordable beauty products. It has grown its Gross Merchandising Value (GMV) by 6X in the last three years and is currently at Rs. 1200 crore run rate. Purplle plans to deliver 6-8X growth in the next 5 years.

According to data platform Statista, India’s beauty and personal care (BPC) market, estimated at $25.9 billion in 2020, is projected to reach $32.7 billion by 2023, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1 per cent.

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