L Catterton invests in Indian beauty brand Sugar Cosmetics

By

Sarah Ahssen

Translated by
Roberta HERRERA

Published
May 31, 2022

While it weighed in at $11 billion (€10.27 billion) in 2017, the Indian beauty market is expected to reach $21 billion by 2025. This strong and continuous growth is driven by its 1.4 billion inhabitants and the explosion of the middle class, which has attracted the covetousness of global players in the cosmetics sector. It is against this backdrop that Sugar Cosmetics has closed a $50 million (€46.69 million) Series D funding. 

This financing round was led by the Asian branch of L Catterton, the French-American investment fund co-founded by LVMH together with long-time partners A91 Partners, Elevation Capital and India Quotient.

This financial transaction, which comes a year after a $21 million fundraising in which the brand was valued at $100 million, will allow Sugar Cosmetics to continue to expand in the dynamic Indian beauty market, mainly due to a growing interest in skin care products, the rise in online shopping and the increase in consumer spending in the country's secondary cities.

Founded in 2012 by husband and wife Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee, the Sugar Cosmetics brand offers skin care and makeup products, and is available online and in 40,000 points-of-sale across India.

There was yet another Indian cosmetics company that made headlines in November 2021. Founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Falguni Nayar, Nykaa, which specializes in selling beauty products online, was listed on the Mumbai Stock Exchange. This listing enabled the brand to raise around €64 million.