VLCC acquires Ustraa to enter men's grooming business

Beauty and skincare brand VLCC on Friday announced the acquisition of Happily Unmarried Marketing Private Ltd, which owns men's grooming brand Ustraa, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition, which will help VLCC to enter into the men's grooming segment, would be a through a combination of secondary buy-out and share swap, said a joint statement.

"This partnership brings together two pioneering home-grown personal care brands -combining Ustraa's leading position in men's grooming range with VLCC's growing skincare products portfolio," it added.

Post-merger, VLCC will make further investments to accelerate the growth of Ustraa, it noted.

Commenting on the development VLCC CEO Vikas Gupta said: "We are impressed with Ustraa's leading position in fast. This acquisition marks VLCC's foray into the men's grooming market and our aim is to accelerate Ustraa's growth journey by leveraging VLCC's pan-India offline distribution".

In parallel, VLCC's existing product business will benefit from Ustraa's tech and digital expertise to scale up in new-age commerce, he said.

Founded in 2015 by Rahul Anand and Rajat Tuli, Ustraa was one of India's first D2C brands focused on men's grooming.

It is backed by marquee investors, including InfoEdge, 360 One (formerly IIFL Ventures) and Wipro.

"VLCC represents a perfect strategic partner to help us broaden our customer reach, especially in offline retail. VLCC's strong management, well supported by Carlyle globally," Ustraa founders said.

Ustraa brand has 85+ SKUs across fragrances, hair care, face and beard care and had 2.2mn customers on their own app.

Founded by Vandana Luthra and Mukesh Luthra as a beauty and weight management services centre in 1989, now it has expanded in the Skincare, Beauty & Wellness Industry in India.

VLCC Group's operations currently span 310 locations in 139 cities and 11 countries.