French beauty and cosmetics major L’Oreal is negotiating a deal targeted at acquiring a majority stake in Indian direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care startup Innovist, which runs brands like Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play, Sunscoop and Vinci Botanicals, people familiar with the developments told Moneycontrol.
If the ongoing talks are successful, the proposed transaction, which values fast-growing Innovist between $350 million to $450 million (Rs 3,240 crore-4,170 crore ), could be one of the largest strategic buyouts in India’s consumer startup space in recent years, according to people in the know. In value terms, it will surpass HUL’s purchase of Minimalist for around Rs 3,000 crore last year.
The attempt comes at a time when the top brass of the Clichy, France headquartered L’Oreal, feels India is “not meeting expectations” and is looking to increase the MNC’s market share domestically as part of a revised strategic plan.
“The plan is for the deal to be executed in a staggered or phased manner. In the first leg, L’Oreal is looking to pick up a controlling stake in Innovist and post that over a few years, there is a gradual roadmap for L’Oreal to eventually own 100 percent,” one of the persons cited above said, adding that terms had not been finalized and may vary at a later stage if required.
The quantum of stake to be sold in the first leg and by whom was not immediately clear.
The founders hold 49.7 per cent stake in Gurugram based- Innovist as per latest data on Tracxn, a private markets data provider. Consumer brands focused home-grown venture capital firm Sauce VC, Point72Ventures, ICICI Ventures and Patni Financial Advisors are some of the firm’s external shareholders.
“The deal is expected to be sealed by April-end if these bilateral talks progress at the current pace,” a second person added.
A third person also added that a stake sale is in the works at Innovist.
All the three persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
Email queries to L’Oreal global, L’Oreal India, the co- founders of Innovist Rohit Chawla and Vimal Bhola and Sauce VC, remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article. Multiple reminders have been sent and this article will be updated as soon as we hear from the parties. Phone calls and text messages to executives at L’Oreal global and the co-founders also remained unanswered.
Innovist is part of a crowded and competitive local market which has players like Purplle, Plum, Sugar Cosmetics, My Glamm, Pilgrim, Nykaa and Honasa Consumer among others.
Recently, the beauty and personal care segment in India saw a key international player opting for the inorganic route.
On March 5, Estée Lauder Companies Inc. announced that the US firm had agreed to acquire the stake in Forest Essentials that it does not already own, taking full control of the Indian luxury Ayurvedic beauty brand.
L'Oreal: The India game plan
During the fourth quarter earnings call in February, Nicolas Hieronimus , Global CEO, L’Oreal , while weighing in on emerging markets, spoke about the revised India strategy and the need to bolster market share and be more ambitious.
“Particularly impressive was the GCC cluster, our fifth largest growth contributor, followed closely by Mexico and Brazil. India, though, is not meeting expectations, and we have a new set-up there starting this year,” Hieronimus said.
Responding to a specific question on the India plans going ahead, he said, “ “As far as India is concerned, when I say that, I’m not satisfied, we had high single-digit growth, we did not gain a lot of market share, if any. And in the end, I think it’s just because we are setting up a new team, a new organization. I took the board of directors to India at the end of October. We revised the strategic plan. We see where we have major growth opportunities. LDB, for example, is fantastic. We just launched CeraVe and La Roche-Posay. It’s starting very well, but it’s still very small.”
“We have great positions in some categories like hair care, where Garnier is number one, or hair color, where we have great products. But overall, we have to be more ambitious. We have a new CEO for L’Oréal India that was previously in charge of CPD Mexico, and he delivered a very strong performance there. We have new capacities. We’ve invested in our factories. We have announced the creation of a new tech center in Hyderabad. Let’s say that today, India is roughly 1 per cent of our turnover, which is very small. So, you know, it can only go up, and we have really put a lot of efforts, both financially and humanly, in terms of talents, to change gears in India,” Hieronimus added.
Innovist: a closer look
Innovist, which calls itself a “science-first personal care house built on clean formulations, transparent ingredients and in-house r&d” has its own manufacturing facility, as per its website. It was founded in August 2018 and its product portfolio consists of shampoos, serums, cleansers, creams, lip balms, sunscreens, body washes and more.
The company ended FY25 with revenues of Rs 300 crore, a 3x jump from around Rs 100 crore clocked in FY24, as per Tracxn.
Innovist registered its first-ever profit of Rs 12 crore in FY25, an improvement from a loss of Rs 12.5 crore incurred in FY24, the data showed.
The startup is likely to end FY26 with a top line of Rs 750-770 crore – registering a growth of over 100 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, sources told Moneycontrol. Innovist is likely to remain profitable even in FY26, they added. They spoke on the condition of anonymity.
At the current valuation range of Rs 3,240-4,170 crore, Innovist is being priced between 4.3x to 5.4x its revenue. Comparable consumer brands at this scale usually trade at 4–6x revenue in such deals.
Second exit for Rohit Chawla?
The Innovist and L’Oreal deal is of significance as it may potentially mark the second major exit for the startup’s co-founder and CEO Rohit Chawla, if he dilutes his stake completely.
Among the early D2C entrepreneurs to strike a sale with an FMCG major, Chawla built The Man Company from 2015 before selling it to Kolkata-based Emami in 2024 in a deal which valued the men’s grooming and personal care startup at roughly Rs 400 crore, as per reports.
The big D2C push in India
Talks between L’Oreal and Innovist come at a time when large corporations or strategic players from Marico to ITC, are rapidly absorbing new-age brands, like 4700BC and Yoga Bar, as they seek to expand reach and tap a broader consumer base.
Explaining why FMCG majors were eyeing new-age companies, CRISIL Ratings, in a September 2025 client note, said the revenue of D2C companies logged a 40 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between fiscal years 2021 and 2024, albeit on a low base. Meanwhile, established FMCG players clocked a moderate 9 percent CAGR during the same period.
CRISIL Ratings describes such deals as a “win-win for both sides,” helping FMCG majors enter premium categories and access consumer insights, while enabling new-age brands to solve for distribution and scale.
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