HUL-owned Minimalist revenue spikes 48% to Rs 515 Cr in FY25

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)-owned D2C brand Minimalist continues to grow at a strong pace, as operating revenue rose 48% year on year to cross the Rs 500 crore threshold in the fiscal year ended March 2025. However, the Jaipur-based company reported a loss in the last fiscal year due to exceptional items worth Rs 46 crore.

Minimalist’s revenue from operations spiked to Rs 514.8 crore in FY25, from Rs 347.4 crore in FY24, according to its consolidated financial statements sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Founded in 2020 by Mohit Yadav and Rahul Yadav, Minimalist is a skin and hair care brand that offers products such as serums, toners, and moisturizers. It retails through its own website, as well as third-party e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Nykaa, and Flipkart, among others.

Sales of these products were the sole source of the brand’s revenue in FY25.

The company also earned Rs 2.84 crore from non-operating sources, which took its overall income to Rs 517.6 crore in FY25.

For the D2C brand, Minimalist continued to spend heavily on advertising and promotion, which accounted for over 30% of its total expenses and stood at Rs 154 crore in FY25. This cost increased 28% compared to FY24.

In line with its revenue growth, the cost of materials consumed rose 57% to Rs 146.7 crore in FY25 from Rs 93.7 crore in FY24. Distribution costs, primarily commissions to marketplaces, stood at Rs 84.3 crore, while employee benefits expenses increased 29% to Rs 36.8 crore.

Other overheads, including rent, transportation, legal and professional fees, and warehousing costs, added another Rs 82 crore. This pushed the company’s overall expenses to Rs 504 crore in the fiscal year ended March 2025 from Rs 333.2 crore in FY24, a 51% year-on-year increase.

In the end, the company’s EBITDA remained positive at Rs 18 crore as both expenses and revenue grew at nearly the same pace. However, Minimialist reported a net loss of Rs 31.5 crore in the previous fiscal year due to one-time exceptional expenses of Rs 46 crore, for which details were not disclosed in the financial statements.

Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at Rs 10.55% and 3.45%, respectively. On a unit basis, Minimalist spent Rs 0.98 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY25. As of March 2025, the firm had current assets of Rs 229 crore which includes Rs 48 crore in cash and bank balances.

In January 2025, fast-moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) acquired a 90.5% stake in Minimalist at a pre-money valuation of Rs 2,955 crore (nearly $350 million). This deal ranks among the largest transactions in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space in recent years. The transaction is expected to be completed in Q1 FY26. 

Prior to the acquisition, Minimalist had raised $17 million, including a $15 million Series A round led by Peak XV, which holds a 27.9% stake. Co-founders Mohit and Rahul Yadav control 62% of the company.

The HUL effect, besides the expected one time exceptional items hit, has not been apparent on Minimalist yet, which is probably a good thing. Besides providing a backstop on liquidity needs, the Minimalist team will probably get a longer time to deliver, as the buy price is no piffling matter even for a giant like HUL that has clearly put a premium on the brand as well.