Emami invests in The Man Company (TMC)

By Raaghav G R

Posted on December 8, 2017

Emami is a Kolkata – based FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) company. The company announced yesterday (07/12/2017) that it has invested an undisclosed Pre Series amount in Helios Lifestyle, a fashion startup which owns and runs the men’s grooming platform, The Man Company (TMC). As part of this investment deal, Emami has got 30% stake in TMC. Read more on Investments

“We are very happy to announce this exciting partnership with Helios. We are quite impressed with the founders and their passion to make this business a success since its inception. With the growing demand for men’s grooming products, many of the startups entered the male grooming segment in the last two years. However, they focus mainly on the beard or any specific grooming segment of men. The Man Company is different from them as it provides complete product portfolio for men by offering a head-to-toe range of grooming products”, Harsha V. Agarwal, director of Emami said.

The Man Company was founded in 2015 by Bhisham Bhateja, Hitesh Dhingra, Rohit Chawla and Parvesh Bareja. The startup serves as a platform where men can shop for grooming products such as shave gels, hair gel; face wash, shampoo, deodorants and body wash. In other words, the startup produces and sells a wide range of grooming products for men. The startup claims that all of its products are free of chemicals (which can cause irreparable harm) and made only from essential oils. The startup presently sells its products through its own website and through e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, etcetera. TMC’s annual turnover this year (2017) is Rs. 5.6 crores. It is higher than its last year’s (2016) turnover of Rs. 1.10 crores. Prior to this round of investment, TMC had secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding from a clutch of angel investors during September 2015.

“Male grooming segment is hugely untapped in India. Barring a few categories like fragrances, men end up using products meant for women. The space is being disrupted by startups globally using digital medium as a platform for marketing and distribution. Within a short space of time, TMC has become a key player in online men’s grooming segment in India and with the strategic association with Emami, we have found a perfect partner to help us accelerate our growth and take our brand to a new level”, Hitesh Dhingra, co-founder and MD of TMC said.

The other fashion startups to get funded this year (2017) include the fashion startup, USPL which raised Rs. 100 crores in Series B round of funding from Accel Partners during November, this year (2017). The fashion startup VanityCask Tech Pvt. Ltd. raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from the Singapore – based VC firm, RB Investments during June, this year. The fashion startup, StalkBuyLove, raised US $1 million in Series B round of funding from Trifecta Capital during April this year. The fashion startup, Fynd, secured US $3.4 million (Rs. 21 crores) in Series A round of funding from IIFL Seed Ventures during June, this year and the fashion startup, SummerLabel, secured Rs. 1 crore in seed round of funding from a group of HNIs during March, this year (2017). Read more on Startup News

Emami invests in The Man Company (TMC)