FMCG firm Marico has picked up a 45% stake in Zed Lifestyle which owns Beardo, a men’s grooming brand that sells its products through a mix of both offline and online channels. Beardo claims that “almost 3/4th of its revenue” is generated through online channels. Ahmedabad-based Beardo was founded in June 2016 Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah. The company sells products like growth oil, wax, shampoos, etc. for men. It currently has a presence in online channels like ecommerce portals, and also across offline channels like spas and salons. We checked, and Beardo products are listed on Amazon and Flipkart, with price ranging from Rs 195 to Rs 3189 (at the time of publishing this). The financials behind the deal were not disclosed. Marico said in a statement that “the equity stake shall be acquired over a period of two years, through primary infusion and secondary buy-outs.” Beardo had raised $500,000 in seed funding from individual HNIs and investors in September last year. Marico is an Indian FMCG giant listed on the stock exchange, with a turnover of $915 Million (during 2015-16) through sales in 25 countries across markets including Asia and Africa. It owns grooming and lifestyle brands like Set Wet, Livon, Zatak, Parachute, among others. Competiton A number of ‘Indie’ or independent grooming/styling brands have been hitting the shelves of the Indian market recently with a primary presence in online channels. Some notable brands include The Man Company which sells men’s grooming products; it raised an undisclosed funding in 2015. Bombay Shaving…
