Global consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser (RB) led a strategic investment round of Rs 45 crore in Visage Lines Personal Care Pvt. Ltd., the owner of the personal care brand Bombay Shaving Company (BSC).
Other investors that took part in the investment round include HNIs (high net-worth individuals) such as Rajesh Sud from Bharti Enterprises, Anjali Bansal founder of Avaana Capital, and Kuldeep Jain, managing director of CleanMax Energy.
“Our investment represents a commitment to bring the best of two worlds together, BSC’s expertise in digital-first brands with strong e-commerce capabilities, and RB’s expertise in branding, manufacturing, and global scale,” said Arjun Purkayastha, RB’s senior vice president, e-commerce, digital, and Ventures, who will join the board of Visage Lines board. “Together, this combination of complementary skills sets us up for huge success.”
“The pandemic has created a few tailwinds and our business now is almost three times what it was pre-Covid,” said Shantanu Deshpande, founder CEO of Visage Lines.
Launched in 2016, Bombay Shaving Company has a portfolio of over 100 products across shaving, bath and body, skin, and beard care.
The funding will be used to scale its operations and provide BSC with access to RB’s global scale, expertise, and mentorship, in order to help the startup to grow as the leader in personal care for men and women.
“RB has an excellent record in building health and wellness brands over their 200-years heritage. Working in partnership, our young team is ambitious for what we can achieve together and scale our operations with an omnichannel presence,” said Deshpande.
“We realised that offline will still remain 98 per cent of Indian retail. Even if the online retail grows very fast, it still won’t be more than 15 per cent of the retail (in near future). The bulk of consumption would continue to happen offline,” said Deshpande.
“As we build omnichannel revenue streams we are cognisant that brands will be scaled through strong digital and retail distribution,” said Deepak Gupta, chief business officer at Visage Lines. “Working with strategic partners over the long term will give us significant leverage in establishing ourselves in the Indian consumer ecosystem,” said Gupta.
BSC faces stiff competition from other startups like Beardo and Ustraa.
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