Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), along with the announcement of its quarterly results, said that the company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire premium actives-led beauty brand Minimalist. This decision of the company will be a step towards further strengthening the company’s position in the beauty and well-being portfolio.
Founded in 2020 by Mohit Yadav and Rahul Yadav, Minimalist is one of the fastest growing digital-first brands. The brand is providing effective skincare and haircare solutions to its consumers through the mission #HideNothing. Minimalist is built on strong fundamentals and has been profitable since its inception. The company has crossed Annual Revenue Runrate (ARR) of Rs 500 crore in a short period of 4 years.
The company said HUL will acquire 90.5% stake in Minimalist through a combination of secondary buyout and primary infusion, while the remaining stake will be acquired over two years. Following this decision of the Company Board, Minimalist will join the strong portfolio of brands in HUL’s Beauty & Wellbeing division, which will be led by Harman Dhillon, Executive Director, Beauty & Wellbeing, HUL. The existing Minimalist team led by Mohit and Rahul will continue to operate the business together with HUL. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
Rohit Java, CEO and Managing Director, HUL, said, “We are delighted to welcome Minimalist to the HUL family. This acquisition is another important step towards enhancing our Beauty & Wellbeing portfolio in high growth premium demand areas. Mohit, Rahul and the team have built a great brand based on science, product efficacy and transparency.”
Ritesh Tiwari, Executive Director, Finance & IT and CFO, HUL, said, “We are excited to partner with the Minimalist team to unlock value through synergy and leverage our complementary capabilities together to take the brand to new heights ”
Mohit Yadav and Rahul Yadav, Founders of Minimalist, said: “We founded Minimalist to offer a transparent Indian beauty range that is trusted and loved globally. We are extremely grateful for the tremendous support we have received in India. Now, with HUL’s strong offline distribution network, we look forward to making our products even more accessible across the country. This partnership also paves the way for our expansion into international markets, helping us realize our dream of taking Minimalist across the world.”
Business Standard had reported in its report on this matter in the first week of January that Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is taking steps to buy skin care brand Minimalist and the talks are in the final stages. The minimalist brand sells its products directly to customers. According to sources, this agreement could have been done for around Rs 3,000 crore. The minimalist brand was launched in 2020 and is known for its exclusive ingredient-based skincare products. It had raised money in Series A funding from Unilever Ventures and Sequoia Capital India.
According to that report of Business Standard, HUL will finalize this deal at the time of announcement of the results of this quarter i.e. December 2024 and the company intends to acquire majority stake in this brand. Sources also said that the founders may keep some stake. The deal was likely to be valued at 8-10 times Minimalist’s revenues, which stood at Rs 347.4 crore in FY2024. This brand had earned Rs 183.8 crore in FY 2023. The company’s profit after tax also more than doubled to Rs 10.8 crore in the last financial year, from Rs 5.2 crore in FY 2023.
“One of the six big bets in the beauty and hair care segment is the light moisturizer category,” HUL Managing Director and CEO Rohit Java told investors in a conference call after the July-September quarter results. Nowadays, customers want creams with other features besides those that retain moisture in the skin. Customers want creams that are non-sticky and effective on sensitive skin. We expect this category to grow in the coming days.
Java also told investors that the maker of Pond’s products is gaining good market share due to its continued efforts in e-commerce and beauty.com channels. He said, ‘Due to the initiative in organized business, we have registered double digit growth in the September quarter of 2024. We are committed to bringing changes in our portfolio in line with the changing needs of customers in the country. The beauty and well-being category contributes 21 percent to HUL’s revenue.