Mahesh Bhupathi’s beauty brand Scentials draws $6 million funding from TIW PE

Mahesh Bhupathi (Image: PTI)

TIW Private Equity (TIW PE) on February 9 said it has invested close to $6 million (around Rs 43.7 crore) in Scentials Beauty Care and Wellness, a personal care company co-founded by former tennis professional Mahesh Bhupathi.

The PE firm, in an official press release, said the investment in Scentials was in accordance with its "philosophy of backing first-generation entrepreneurs."

Scentials, started in 2017 by Bhupathi and entrepreneur Jinesh Mehta, designs, develops and distributes beauty and personal care brands that are driven by some of India’s top celebrities including Salman Khan, Virat Kohli and Lara Dutta.

The company had, in 2019, raised capital of Rs 25 crore from Unilever Ventures, the entity linked to global FMCG giant Unilever.

“After Unilever Venture, we are proud to have TIW believe in this opportunity in India and will continue exploring growth categories," Bhupathi said.

The partnership with TIW is expected to boost Scentials' product offerings and distribution network across the country.

"With their prior experience in investing into and growing business we are expecting to scale rapidly," added Mehta, the co-founder of Scentials.

TIW's chief investment officer Mohit Ralhan said the partnership with Scentials will allow the latter to "grow exponentially", adding that the company can emerge as "India’s leading personal care business" entity.

"The founders have built a solid launchpad bringing a fresh approach to the business and will benefit from the strategic and operational inputs that we bring to the table," he added.