Mamaearth acquires haircare brand BBLUNT for Rs 135 cr from Godrej stable

BBLUNT's strength lies in its extensive experience of styling Bollywood celebrities and transferring the salon experience into consumer products

Honasa Consumer, the parent company of D2C unicorn Mamaearth, has acquired BBLUNT, a premium hair care, hair color and styling products brand from Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL). The deal is worth Rs 134 crore, according to people close to the developments.  

While Honasa's 30 per cent stake in BBLUNT is for Rs 84.5 crore, its entire purchase including different product lines and BBLUNT salons is for an overall deal value of Rs 134 crore. 

BBLUNT salons, operated by Bhabani Blunt Hair Dressing, was founded by Adhuna and Ashoke Bhabani over two decades back. Its strength lies in its extensive experience of styling Bollywood celebrities and transferring the salon experience into consumer  products. 

The brand’s product portfolio currently consists of hair colors, shampoos, dry shampoos, conditioners, styling products, serums and temporary hair colours. The product insights have come from stylists and consumer interactions, and tested in the salon on real consumers – to build a product line crafted especially for Indian hair, weather, and water conditions. 

This has been the primary distinguishing factor for the brand and has been pivotal in crafting an incredibly unique, carefully considered, beautifully designed product line. BBLUNT enjoys a huge equity with millennials today and has many prestigious Bollywood feature films to its credit like Dil Chahta Hai, which broke the traditional mold of hairstyling in the industry. 

Estimated at Rs 6,000 crore, the hair color and hairstyling category are expected to continue fast-paced growth in India, said the company. 

As part of the acquisition, BBLUNT hair care and styling products business will be completely owned and managed by Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd. However, BBLUNT salon business will continue to operate as an independent entity, with the founding team of Adhuna Bhabani, Osh Bhabani and Avan Contractor as Creative Directors and Spoorthy Shetty as CEO. 

Varun Alagh, co-founder and CEO of Honasa Consumer, said, ”BBLUNT, as a brand, has been ahead of its time with its innovative product portfolio and its digital presence. We will utilize our expertise and proficiency in digital marketing to accelerate the growth and scale of BBLUNT. Since the brands synergize on fundamental principles and strong millennial connect, we are confident that BBLUNT will be a great addition to the Honasa Consumer portfolio.”

Adhuna Bhabani, Founder and Director of BBLUNT said, “Honasa is a strong player in the Direct to consumer/e-commerce space and they see great potential in the brand and the salon heritage that we have. We, the team, are very excited to see what the future holds in this exciting new chapter for the brand.”