D2C brand Juicy Chemistry churns profit in FY21 with 5X jump in operating revenue

Direct to consumer (D2C) brands in the beauty and grooming segment tend to achieve profitability quicker than e-commerce marketplaces. MamaEarth was close to breaking-even in FY20 even after recording 5.6X growth in operating revenue to Rs 110 crore while Beardo also tasted profit during the same period (FY20) for the first time.

Coimbatore-based Juicy Chemistry’s financial results in FY21 also underscore the fact that D2C brands can scale quickly with sound economics. The company has recorded over 5X surge in operating revenue to Rs 18.8 crore in FY21 from Rs 3.72 crore in the previous fiscal, according to its annual financial statements filed with the RoC.

Juicy Chemistry has made Rs 17.38 crore from sales in India while its income from shipping and courier service stood at Rs 43.48 lakh in FY21. With a spurt in scale, the company’s expenses also blew up 4.7X to Rs 18.6 crore in FY21 from Rs 3.91 crore spent in the preceding financial year.

Marketing and commission (paid to marketplaces and other sales channels) collectively cost Rs 7.22 crore, which was 38.87% of Juicy Chemistry’s total expense in FY21. These costs grew around 9.25X in FY21 as compared to Rs 0.78 crore in FY21.

Expenditure on raw material consumed during FY21 has jumped 4.7X to Rs 5.16 crore in the last fiscal (FY21) from Rs 1.1 crore during FY20. The cost incurred on employee benefit also increased 3X to Rs 90.4 Lakhs in FY21 from Rs 29 lakhs during FY20.

Driven by strong growth in revenue and control on overall expenses, the company has managed to recover from the loss of Rs 17 lakh in the preceding fiscal (FY20) and posted a profit of Rs 22 lakh in FY21. On a unit level, Juicy Chemistry has spent 0.99 rupee to earn a single rupee of operating revenue in the last fiscal (FY21).

Despite Covid, Juicy Chemistry has demonstrated stellar growth in FY21 with strong fundamentals and frugality. The seven-year-old company’s scale is set to grow multi-fold in the ongoing fiscal (FY22) as it has access to growth capital as well. 

According to Fintrackr, it had raised a $6.3 million Series A round at a valuation of $26 million from Belgium-based investment firm Verlinvest and Goldman Sachs-backed Purplle in March. Juicy Chemistry competes with MamaEarth, Sugar Cosmetics and a portfolio of several women-centric traditional beauty and grooming brands.