Vineeta Singh’s Sugar Cosmetics raises $50 million as it plans to add 30,000 stores

• Sugar Cosmetics on Tuesday announced that it has raised $50 million in a round led by L Catterton.
• Anjana Sasidharan, L Catterton’s Asia Managing Director, will be joining Sugar Cosmetics’ board with this investment.
• L Catterton has also made investments in at least 20 other companies in the beauty and personal care space.

Vineeta Singh-led makeup brand Sugar Cosmetics on Tuesday announced that it has raised $50 million (₹388 crore) in a round led by L Catterton, a consumer-focused private equity firm. The investment was a part of Sugar’s Series D round, which witnessed participation from existing investors such as A91 Partners, Elevation Capital and India Quotient.

Anjana Sasidharan, L Catterton Asia’s Managing Director will join Sugar Cosmetics’ board with this investment.

“We have been impressed with how Sugar has sustained its momentum of rapid growth across online and offline channels while maintaining healthy operating metrics. With a product-first mindset and deep understanding of their target consumers, Sugar’s leadership team has established a strong position in India’s cosmetics market, which is at an exciting inflection point of expansion,” Sasidharan said.

L Catterton is also an made investments in other companies in the beauty and personal care space including Il Makiage, Intercos, The Honest Company, TULA, Bliss, Ci FLAVORS, ELEMIS, ETVOS, Function of Beauty, Marubi, MERIT, and Sociolla.

Sugar Cosmetics plans to use this capital to radly expand in the beauty and personal care market in India. It believes that a partnership with L Catterton — which works with 20 beauty and personal care companies across America, Europe and Asia — can aid this expansion.

“L Catterton’s brand-building and value-creation capabilities will fortify our growth as we continue on our journey of delighting and over-delivering on the expectations of our customers and fans,” Vineeta Singh, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sugar Cosmetics, said.

IIM Ahmedabad alumni Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee founded Sugar Cosmetics in 2015. It is an omnichannel cosmetics company, which has a presence across thousands of retail stores and retail chains such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Central, Health & Glow and NewU.

The company also sells its products online through Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa and Myntra, along with their own websites and mobile apps. The company competes with other beauty and personal care brands such as Mamaearth, Nykaa’s own private label, WOW Skin, Plum, Unilever, L’Oreal as well as Procter & Gamble.

Earlier this month, CEO Vineeta Singh in an interview mentioned that Sugar Cosmetics plans to expand its presence to 60,000 stores — from the current 30,000 stores — over the next 12-15 months as brick-and-mortar accounts for about 65% of the company’s revenue.

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