Indian Cosmetic Brand Purplle Secures $75 Million from Kedaara & Others
Purplle secured $75 million in a round headed by Kedaara, Sequoia Capital India, and Blume Ventures, increasing its total funding to $170 million.
Purplle raised $45 million in a Series D round in March 2021. The latest round was funded by Sequoia Capital India, Verlinvest, Blume Ventures, and JSW Ventures, in addition to previous investors Verlinvest, Blume Ventures, and JSW Ventures. According to TechCrunch, the company is now valued at over $300 million, up from $150 million in its last Series C investment in 2019.
The company had total sales of $50 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2019 as of July 2020, and was aiming for GMV sales of $85-$100 million by the end of 2020.
Purplle received Series C investment from Goldman Sachs and Verlinvest towards the end of 2019. Two early angel investors received 40 times return on their angel investment when they sold their stock to Goldman Sachs in a secondary exit agreement in July 2020.
In January 2020, Verlinvest made an $8 million investment in Purplle, which was used to pay ESOP redemptions.
Concerning the investment, Purplle.com co-founder and CEO Manish Taneja, said, "We are excited to partner with Kedaara, as they venture into the beauty e-commerce industry. Being one of the marquee investors in India, Kedaara's rich experience across consumer and tech will empower us in our next phase of growth. With this investment, we will strengthen our technological capabilities, deepen our talent pool, introduce new and innovative products and brands, invest in entrepreneurs building differentiated beauty offerings, and create a treasure chest for potential acquisitions”.
Sunish Sharma, co-CEO & Managing Partner at Kedaara, and Anant Gupta, Managing Director at Kedaara, said, "We are delighted to partner with Purplle. Led by an innovative, passionate, and strong execution-focused team, the company has demonstrated market-leading growth and continues to build a unique platform focused on the ethos of democratizing Beauty and Personal Care across India. We believe Purplle offers a unique value proposition and a superior customer experience and will continue to have strong tailwinds for a long time. We are very excited with our new investment in the consumer-tech space and look forward to working closely with the Purplle team in helping them realize their vision."
Purplle.com, a beauty website started by Rahul Dash and Manish Taneja in 2012, sells around 50,000 items from over 1,000 brands, as well as its own private label, to a monthly active user base of 7 million in India.
The fresh funds will be used to expand in the world's second-largest online market, as well as to help the firm achieve its target of 6 to 8 times growth in the next five years. It will also invest in other beauty technology companies.
Purplle raised $45 million in a Series D round in March 2021. The latest round was funded by Sequoia Capital India, Verlinvest, Blume Ventures, and JSW Ventures, in addition to previous investors Verlinvest, Blume Ventures, and JSW Ventures. According to TechCrunch, the company is now valued at over $300 million, up from $150 million in its last Series C investment in 2019.
The company had total sales of $50 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2019 as of July 2020, and was aiming for GMV sales of $85-$100 million by the end of 2020.
Purplle received Series C investment from Goldman Sachs and Verlinvest towards the end of 2019. Two early angel investors received 40 times return on their angel investment when they sold their stock to Goldman Sachs in a secondary exit agreement in July 2020.
In January 2020, Verlinvest made an $8 million investment in Purplle, which was used to pay ESOP redemptions.
Concerning the investment, Purplle.com co-founder and CEO Manish Taneja, said, "We are excited to partner with Kedaara, as they venture into the beauty e-commerce industry. Being one of the marquee investors in India, Kedaara's rich experience across consumer and tech will empower us in our next phase of growth. With this investment, we will strengthen our technological capabilities, deepen our talent pool, introduce new and innovative products and brands, invest in entrepreneurs building differentiated beauty offerings, and create a treasure chest for potential acquisitions”.
Sunish Sharma, co-CEO & Managing Partner at Kedaara, and Anant Gupta, Managing Director at Kedaara, said, "We are delighted to partner with Purplle. Led by an innovative, passionate, and strong execution-focused team, the company has demonstrated market-leading growth and continues to build a unique platform focused on the ethos of democratizing Beauty and Personal Care across India. We believe Purplle offers a unique value proposition and a superior customer experience and will continue to have strong tailwinds for a long time. We are very excited with our new investment in the consumer-tech space and look forward to working closely with the Purplle team in helping them realize their vision."
Purplle.com, a beauty website started by Rahul Dash and Manish Taneja in 2012, sells around 50,000 items from over 1,000 brands, as well as its own private label, to a monthly active user base of 7 million in India.
The fresh funds will be used to expand in the world's second-largest online market, as well as to help the firm achieve its target of 6 to 8 times growth in the next five years. It will also invest in other beauty technology companies.
