Indian D2C Ayurvedic personal care and beauty brand, The Ayurveda Co. (T.A.C), has raised INR 100 Cr ($13.3m) in Series A funding led by Sixth Sense Ventures. Participating investors included startup founders, actress Kajal Agarwal, and venture debt funds.
The majority of the funding was raised in equity, although the company did not disclose the equity and debt funding breakdown. T.A.C was founded in 2021 and produces Ayurvedic personal care products in categories including skincare, haircare, makeup, and wellness supplements.
The funding will be used to expand the brand’s offline presence, enhance product manufacturing, in-house R&D, and digital awareness around Ayurveda and T.A.C.
The company plans to expand to over 20,000 touchpoints by 2025, from its current 5,000+. It also aims to increase its presence in Tier II and III cities in Gujarat, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.
T.A.C has established a physical presence with its own retail stores and via partnerships with retailers, including Health & Glow.
It also sells products online through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Nykaa, and Flipkart. T.A.C is building its in-house R&D labs to further strengthen product expertise. The company claims that it has seen unprecedented growth, growing over 300% over the past ten months.
The Series A funding is T.A.C’s second round of financing, having raised $3m from Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, Rahul Gupta from Tricity Technologies, and Harsh Gupta from the School of Design and Entrepreneurship in March 2021.
The latest funding brings T.A.C’s total funding to around $115m. The company competes with brands such as Forest Essentials, Khadi Essentials Healthcare, and The Ayurveda Experience in the core Ayurvedic beauty and personal care market. It also faces competition from D2C beauty brands such as IPO-bound Mamaearth, Wow Skin Science, and mCaffeine in the broader beauty and personal care market.
T.A.C’s founders, Shreedha Singh, and Param Bhargava intend to make Ayurvedic wellness mainstream among millennials and Gen Z.
Singh believes that the latest funding will help the company achieve its goals. She said that T.A.C is using a combination of online and offline channels to educate consumers about the benefits of Ayurveda and that the brand has grown rapidly due to its focus on Ayurvedic principles, transparency, and purity.