Unilever Ventures invests in skincare start-up Plum

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Dec 11, 2018

Unilever Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount in Pureplay Skin Sciences (India) Pvt. Ltd, the business that retails Plum skincare products, as part of its Series A funding.

Plum and its parent company Pureplay Skin Sciences has received Series A funding from Unilever Ventures, the private equity section of the international business Unilever, according to the Mint.

“We weren’t looking to raise money initially, but we realized that as the business grew, it needed money,” Plum’s co-founder Shankar Prasad told Mint. “Unilever Ventures has come on board as a pure financial investor.”

Plum is positioned in the mid-premium section of the beauty market and has an average product retail price of Rs 500 ($7). The brand forayed into offline distribution last year and now retails through a network of multi-brand beauty and wellness distributors such as Health and Glow and the Nobel Plus pharmacy chain. Offline retail currently contributes 25 percent of the business’ total turnover.

Plum was launched in 2013 as a small-scale skincare start-up designed to tap into India’s growing beauty industry. The brand retails natural beauty products such as facial washes and scrubs, cleansers, shampoos, face masks, and kohl pencil. The brand is also vegan and cruelty free.