Men’s grooming startup Ustraa was acquired by Carlyle-owned wellness and beauty company VLCC at a 40% valuation cut in July this year. The company grew decently in terms of scale but its losses continued to widen in FY23.
While we will look at its expenses and losses in the second half of the story, for now let’s look at its avenues of revenue and their growth.
Ustraa’s revenue from operations grew by 47% to Rs 97 crore in FY23, according to its annual financial report with the Registrar of Companies.
Financials FY23
Operating Revenue
Total Expenses
Profit/Loss
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Ustraa, a brand owned by Happily Unmarried, offers products like fragrances, hair care, face and beard care products. The sale of grooming products is the primary source of revenue for Ustraa. Significantly, around 67% of the company’s sales come from online channels.
Akin to every D2C startup, advertising and promotion formed 25% of the overall expenditure which grew 30% to Rs 35 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023 from Rs 27 crore in FY22.
Its cost of material consumed, employee benefits, commission paid to the agents, freight, and other operating overheads catalyzed its overall expenditure by 45.3% to Rs 138 crore in FY23 from Rs 95 crore in FY22. Check startup data intelligence platform TheKredible for more details.
Expenses Breakdown
https://thekredible.com/company/ustraa/financials
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- Cost of materials consumed
- Employee benefit expense
- Advertising promotional expenses
- Commission paid other selling agents
- Freight
- Others
With a 45% increase in the total spends, Ustraa’s losses increased by 43% to
Rs 40 crore in FY23 from Rs 28 crore in FY22. Its EBITDA margin stood at -40% during FY23.
FY22-FY23
| FY22 | FY23 |
| EBITDA Margin | -41% | -40% |
| Expense/₹ of Op Revenue | ₹1.44 | ₹1.42 |
| ROCE | NA | NA |
On a unit level, the NCR-based company spent Rs 1.42 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY23.
The eight-year-old firm’s closest competitors are Beardo, The Man Company and Bombay Shaving Company where most of these companies have earned higher revenues when compared to Ustraa. Emami-backed The Man Company crossed Rs 200 crore revenue mark in FY23 with a 40% growth while Marico-owned Beardo increased its revenue by 12.2% to Rs 106.6 crore in the last fiscal year. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Beardo posted a loss of Rs 6.13 crore in FY23 as compared to Rs 75 lakh profit during FY22. Bombay Shaving Company claimed that its operational revenue stood at Rs 186 crore during FY23.
