VLCC set to acquire Info Edge-backed Ustraa

Personal care brand VLCC is set to acquire men’s grooming brand Ustraa via share swap and a secondary buy-out. The D2C (direct-to-consumer) brand Ustraa will get further investment from VLCC to ramp-up its growth.

Following the acquisition, Ustraa’s existing investors — Info Edge, 360 One (formerly IIFL Ventures) and Wipro Consumer Care Ventures — will become stakeholders of VLCC, the company said in a statement.

The acquisition will help VLCC’s foray into men's grooming space.

Ustraa’s founders Rahul Anand and Rajat Tuli will continue to work along the brand and will also head VLCC's D2C play.

Founded in 2015, Ustraa, a brand owned by Happily Unmarried, offers products like fragrances, hair care, face and beard care products. The company claims to have about 2.2 million customers on its app. Around 67% of the company’s sales come from online channels.

Ustraa managed to grow its scale by 70% to Rs 67.87 crore during the fiscal year ending March 2022 while its losses remained stable and stood at Rs 27.91 crore in the said period.

In comparison, rivals Beardo and The Man Company recorded Rs 95 crore and Rs 73.61 crore operating revenue respectively in FY22. As per Fintrackr's analysis, The Man Company's losses soared to Rs 30.88 crore while Beardo turned profitable during the same fiscal year and booked Rs 75 lakh profits.

Also read: Beardo, TMC and Ustraa: Men’s grooming space in FY22

Ustraa has raised over $10 million to date from Info Edge, Wipro, and IIFL, among others. Last it raised Rs 16.8 crore or $2.1 million from existing investors. Entrackr had exclusively reported about this fundraise.

Earlier this year, global investment firm Carlyle acquired a majority stake in VLCC. Carlyle’s global private equity funds have previously invested in brands such as Beautycounter, Every Man Jack, and Delhivery, among others.