Deepika Padukone-backed skin care brand 82°E sees revenue drop to Rs 14.7 crore in FY25, posts Rs 12.26 crore loss

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Deepika Padukone-backed skincare brand 82°E reported a revenue decline in FY25, falling to Rs 14.7 crore from Rs 21.2 crore in the previous year, while net losses narrowed to Rs 12.3 crore, according to MCA filings.

The company had posted net loss of Rs 23.4 crore in FY24, according to Tracxn data. DPKA Universal Consumer Ventures Private Ltd, legal entity to 82°E, said in the filing that the company is cutting costs and ramping up sales efforts to return to profitability.

The company spent Rs 25.9 crore in FY25, which is a sharp reduction from Rs 47.1 crore the previous year, but still far higher than what its current revenue. Marketing spends fell steeply to Rs 4.4 crore from nearly Rs 20 crore in FY24, data shows, suggesting the brand pulled back aggressively on customer acquisition after its FY24 push didn’t convert into sustainable revenue.

The brand did not immediately respond to  request for a comment.

The dismal results come even as the brand leveraged Deepika’s massive social media following, where the actress shared personal experiences, promoting the products. 82°E positions itself as a luxury skincare brand, with products starting at Rs 2,500 and going up to nearly Rs 4,000, which is mid-premium while priced below the luxury territory dominated by Estée Lauder.

It competes in a crowded market, where fast-growing D2C players like Foxtale, mCaffeine and Plum are scaling aggressively with mass-premium price points,  while luxury brands like Estée Lauder and L’Occitane continue to dominate the luxury end.

In contrast to 82°E's performance, make-up brand Kay Beauty launched by Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, made a healthy uptick in sales since 2019. Kay Beauty emerged as the standout performer, with revenues surging 45.83 percent to reach Rs 88.23 crore (approximately $10.6 million) in fiscal year 2024. It remained profitable since the beginning but made its first meaningful profit of Rs 3.9 crore in FY22. The brand's profit jumped 66 per cent to Rs 11.3 crore in FY24.

It operates as joint venture company with 51 per cent held by Nykaa, 42 per cent by Katrina Kaif and the remaining 7.5 per cent held by Matrix.

Crisil expects the joint-venture company to further grow to Rs 100-105 crore revenue in the fiscal 2025.   "Nykaa-KK benefits from FSN’s strong market position in the e-commerce beauty products segment, backed by strong position for the ‘Nykaa’ brand. It has been able to establish and retain a large customer base, leading to repeat orders from majority of the retail customers," the credit rating agency said earlier this year.

Other celebrity backed brands include HRX by Hrithik Roshan, Being Human by Salman Khan, Hyphen by Kriti Sanon and Wrogn by Virat Kohli.