SUGAR Cosmetics closes $50 Mn Series D round

Omnichannel beauty company SUGAR Cosmetics has closed its $50 million Series D round led by the Asia fund of L Catterton, one of the largest global consumer-focused private equity firms. The round also saw participation from existing investors like A91 Partners, Elevation Capital and India Quotient.

SUGAR had scooped up $21 million in a Series C funding round led by Elevation Capital in February last year. The Vineeta Singh-led company was valued at around $100 million then. As per Entrackr's sources, it has raised the new round at a valuation of $500 million.

The company is on track to further capitalise on its growth momentum in the rapidly expanding beauty and personal care market in the country, said SUGAR in a press release.

Decade-old SUGAR positions itself as an omnichannel brand with a presence in over 40,000 retail stores while selling its products on e-commerce marketplaces including Amazon, Nykaa and Myntra. It also retails via its own website and mobile app facilitating sales outside India which includes Germany, Italy, USA and Korea.

The D2C brand leverages social media channels to reach its target audiences via ad campaigns, paid partnerships and influencer marketing programs.

SUGAR recently said that it will be scaling up its physical presence to over 60,000 retail outlets over the next 12-15 months. Earlier this year, it had picked up a 51% stake in skin and hair care brand ENN Beauty for an undisclosed amount.

For the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2021, SUGAR recorded operating revenues of Rs 126.4 crore as compared to Rs 103.71 crore earned in FY20, according to the company’s annual financial statements. During the financial year ending March 2021, its losses increased marginally to Rs 8.29 crore as compared to Rs 5.51 crore in FY20.

According to SUGAR, it is likely to grow its top line by over 2X to cross Rs 300 crore in revenue in FY22.

L Catterton has significant experience investing globally in the beauty and personal care space. The firm has backed Il Makiage, Intercos, The Honest Company, TULA, Bliss, Ci FLAVORS, ELEMIS, ETVOS, Function of Beauty, Marubi, MERIT, and Sociolla, among others.