Babycare startup Mamaearth gets funding from Shilpa Shetty

Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd, which owns and operates babycare products startup mamaearth.in, said on Friday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in equity investment from Bollywood actress and entrepreneur Shlipa Shetty Kundra.

This marks the startup's third round of external funding.

Founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife duo Varun and Ghazal Alagh, the startup's product portfolio includes toxin-free body lotions, rash creams, shampoo, body wash, massage oil, and bug sprays for children up to the age of five years.

It also offers non-preservative products for lactation, stress relief and pospartum weight loss for expecting and new mothers.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra said in a statement that the natural and chemical-free nature of the products had contributed to her decision to back mamaearth.in.

The startup sells its products through online platforms such as Amazon, FirstCry, Nykaa, Flipkart, Paytm as well as its own website.

It claims to have more than 1 lakh customers and aims to more than double that number by the end of this year.

More than 90% of Mamaearth's sales take place through online channels. Its products are available at more than 300 stores across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and the firm plans to expand to 10 cities.

The company had last September raised $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) in its second round of funding led by Fireside Ventures and other investors.

In December 2016, the company had raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding led by Fireside, besides a clutch of high net-worth individuals.

Babycare segment
FirstCry is the best-funded baby products e-tailer in India, having raised more than $125 million from a clutch of investors including IDG, Valiant Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates, SAIF Partners and Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata.

Pune-based Brainbees Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which runs FirstCry, was also in the fray to acquire Gurgaon-based startup mycity4kids.

Mumbai-based Hopscotch.in is also a well-funded player but peers such as Hushbabies have had to shut shop.

Last September, Amishi Consumer Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs pregnancy and baby care products firm The Moms Co., raised $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) in a Series A round of funding co-led by DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital. 

In March last year, Bangalore-based parenting startup BabyOnBoard raised seed investment from a clutch of individual investors. 

In the broader childcare space, Delhi-based online maternity and parenting lifestyle management startup Baby Destination raised $312,000 (Rs 2 crore) last December from GEMs Partners, a micro venture capital fund, and Tariq Khan, an angel investor based in New York. 

Shilpa Shetty
The actress-turned-entrepreneur and her husband, Indian-origin entrepreneur Raj Kundra, previously owned a stake in Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals before giving it up in 2015.

The couple had also acquired controlling 51.51 per cent equity stake in public-listed Hindusthan Safety Glass Industries Limited for around Rs 1.89 crore ($0.3 million) in 2014. 

In her personal capacity, Shetty had invested GroupHomeBuyers.com, which offered deals on real estate and home loans.

As an entrepreneur, she has launched ventures such as Satyug Gold and wellness chain IOSIS.