Celebrity-led beauty company Scentials has raised Rs 25 crore in Series A funding led by Unilever Ventures. Scentials co-founded by Jinesh Mehta and Mahesh Bhupathi launched Virat Kohli’s’ One8 brand in the fragrance category in January this year and followed with launching a line of skin care “Arias” with Lara Dutta.
Scentials is a startup that develops beauty brands across fragrances, skincare and colour cosmetics shaped by the vision and personalities of various Indian celebrities.
“Since our inception, we have focused on making high-quality beauty products available at affordable prices to the consumer and have already received great traction. This has been made possible through our strategic partnerships with top celebrities - both actors and sports persons - whose personalities and presence resonate with consumers not only in India but also globally,” Jinesh Mehta said in a statement.
Since inception, Scentials has partnered with leading celebrities to capture their vision in the form of products and create successful brands that resonate with the consumer. The products are already available across formats including Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Health & Glow, More Supermarkets and Amazon.in and the company says that this offering will continue to grow.
“There have been multiple success stories with celebrity beauty brands and licenses in the west and with our product and distribution offering we feel we are able to offer the celebrity an opportunity to create serious value. To have Unilever ventures back our vision is testimony that we are on the right track,” co-founder, Mahesh Bhupathi added.
“Scentials is building a unique beauty brands studio platform that combines fast paced innovations across beauty categories with endorsements from top tier Indian celebrities in sports, films &entertainment. The celebrity partnerships provide massive traditional and social media reach driving brand salience .We look forward to supporting Scentials in their growth journey" said Pawan Chaturvedi, Investment Director at Unilever Ventures
The company will now expand its offerings by introducing new lines and limited editions, starting with the makeup line with Malaika Arora before Diwali.
Scentials was advised by Lastaki Advisors on the deal.