On December 6, UpScalio announced an investment of an undisclosed amount in four auto accessories brands—Autofurnish, Destorm, Urban Lifestylers, and MotoTrance. It had previously invested in Green Soul Ergonomics, Polestar, Trace and Hestia.
On the same day, Mensa Brands said it acquired Mumbai-based home decor and kitchenware brand Folkulture for an undisclosed amount, making it its 13th acquisition in 2021.
And just last month, GlobalBees Brands added three more startups to its portfolio list in November. It also bought a majority stake in dietary supplement maker HealthyHay, hair care product brand Ray Naturals and eyewear brand Intelligence in an undisclosed amount. Due to these acquisitions, GlobalBiz has acquired eight brands in just 4-5 months.
Startups like UpScalio, Mensa Brands and GlobalBees Brands have some in common—they’re all Thrasio Holdings Inc. Adheres to the Brand Aggregation Model, a US startup that bets on the concept of economies of scale by acquiring and consolidating third-party vendors. On Amazon in the US. It aims to help portfolio brands grow faster, save costs and give an attractive exit to brand founders.
About seven such startups have come up in India. And more people in India searched for the word ‘thrasio’ in September than in their home country, shows data from Google Trends.
Take the example of GlobalBiz, founded by FirstCry founder Supam Maheshwari and former Edelweiss Financial Services executive Nitin Agarwal, with a corpus of $75 million. It aims to invest in 30-35 brands ranging from online-only products to fast-moving consumer goods. GlobalBees plans to invest in over 20 brands by the end of this financial year.
Similarly, UpScalio—founded by Gautam Kshatriya, a former consultant at McKinsey & Company; Sam Khan, former advisor to Bain & Company; and Nitin Agarwal, a former marketing and growth executive at Purple – funds digital brands sold on e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart and Nykaa. It manages their core functions including Multi-Marketplace Management, Digital Marketing, Branding, Logistics, Sourcing, Finance and Business Operations.
Another such startup, 10Club, raised $40 million in a round co-led by Fireside Ventures, a leading Indian investor in consumer and hardware technology.
Vinay Singh, a partner at Fireside Ventures, said the firm believes that “digital consumption is spread across many more categories, each of which may not meet our criteria for investment. But a roll-out like 10Club- The Up model can also effectively meet the needs of brands such as Home & Kitchen, Garden, Pets, Sports, Kids and more, Think specific categories, but something very interesting together can create huge results. “.
Founded earlier this year, Mensa became the fastest Indian unicorn (startup valued at over $1 billion) this year. It focuses on the Fashion, Beauty & Cosmetics and Home Furnishing category. The company’s founder and CEO Ananth Narayanan said in a recent interview that the company plans to acquire around 40 brands in 12-18 months and close eight more in the near future.
Brand aggregators acquire companies in all sectors and industries, in which they give founders of the brands or companies they are looking for an attractive exit while consolidating some of the variable costs such as accounting, workflow management and administration.
Darpan Sanghvi, Founder and CEO, Good Glam Group, said that aggregators better understand the needs of online consumers. “We are able to interact with a consumer and understand the needs and solve them. At Good Glam Group, young, high-growth brands join the group to use our unique content-to-commerce business model to establish a more direct and personal relationship with the consumer through group-owned digital assets There are,” Sanghvi explained.
Sanghvi said that the mergers and acquisitions in Good Glam Group are done strategically to cover the beauty and personal care sector. “No one can ever set the terms, (otherwise) M&A will not work. It should always be a win-win and a well thought out plan. At Good Glamm Group, we don’t see it as an acquisition; we See it as someone joining the Good Glam family. This was one of the reasons why we created Mothership at MyGlam so that MyGlam does not acquire anyone, but all brands including MyGlam are part of the Good Glam Group.
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