Bombay Shaving Company raises Rs 160 crore from multiple sources

The hair removal brand plans to launch in international markets such as: US, Europe, GCC and Australia.

Hair removal brand Bombay Shaving Company (BSC) has raised Rs 160 crore in a funding round led by India-based hedge fund Malabar Investments as it seeks to expand products and acquire companies.

The round also saw participation from Patni Advisors, Singularity AMC, and other HNIs. ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) sales for some of its employees and exits for early investors to the tune of Rs 45 crore was a feature of this round. The new funds form the sixth round of financing for a company that counts Reckitt, Colgate Palmolive and Sixth Sense Venture Partners as investors. The round comes 11 months after the company raised Rs 45 crore from Reckitt, a global FMCG in health, hygiene and nutrition.

BSC plans to scale operations to Rs 500 crore top line with an omnichannel presence in the next two years. It will deploy the funds towards expanding its portfolio of personal care & hair removal products. Along with launching new products, BSC will continue to aggressively expand its offline distribution, build international presence, invest in brand building and hire talent across positions. BSC also intends to acquire brands in adjacent categories and content platforms and is in advanced talks to raise a further Rs 300 crore for this.

The investment will bolster BSC’s ambition to deliver 10x growth in the next 5 years, said the company.

“As we scale from Rs 150 crore to Rs 500 crore and Rs 1000 crore, we needed an investor group that could guide us on building an IPO-able company,” said Shantanu Deshpande, founder and chief executive officer of BSC. “We entered the market looking to raise Rs 100 crore but were delighted to have received offers of over Rs 500 crore. We will be evaluating how to further accommodate valuable investors.”

Launched in 2016, BSC started as a premium, D2C, experiential shaving regimen brand and has since expanded into diverse hair removal categories. In 2020, BSC forayed into women’s hair removal with their brand ‘Bombay Shaving Company–Women’ which now accounts for nearly 25 per cent of the total business. 

BSC’s product portfolio includes shaving regimens, trimmers, beard products, razors for women, wax strips and hair removal creams. It has served over 3 million customers across channels in the six years of its existence.

“We love the passion of the team, their consumer orientation, and product innovation. In a short time, they have built a very sizable business and have a solid intrinsic,” said Sumeet Nagar, managing director at Malabar Investments. 

Deepak Gupta, chief operating officer at BSC said the firm plans to scale up its store presence from 50,000 to 200,000 selling points across India and aim to grab a 15 per cent share in hair removal in these stores. “We also have a pipeline of over 30 innovative products in 2022 and are keen to deeply invest in the brand as well,” said Gupta. “We are already clocking 1.5 million shipments a quarter. We see the international channel achieving salience for us in a span of 18-24 months, adding 10-15 per cent to our overall company revenue.”