Indian skincare startup Mamaearth’s products are on display for sale at a wholesale shop in Ahmedabd, India, June 22, 2022. REUTERS
Feb 13 (Reuters) – Indian personal care company Honasa Consumer expects revenue growth above market expectations for fiscal 2027, its CEO told Reuters, led by a sustained recovery in its flagship Mamaearth brand while exploring acquisitions in new categories.
Mamaearth, which Ambit Capital says accounts for over half of Honasa’s topline, had struggled to grow in 2024 and 2025 due to shifting consumer preferences, with executives noting that they needed to refresh its products, prices and marketing.
Launched in 2016, the brand grew popular for its range of “toxin-free” mom-and-baby products such as face washes, shampoos and hair oils.
Honasa, in an investor presentation in November, said the unit’s growth was “back in the green” in the September quarter with the launch of new products, while its Rice Facewash hit 1 billion rupees ($11.02 million) in annual recurring revenue.
For the December quarter, Mamaearth reported growth in the double-digit percentage range.
Honasa now aims to grow its overall revenue in the high-teen percentage range for fiscal 2027, CEO and co‑founder Varun Alagh said on Thursday. Analysts project growth of 15%, according to data compiled by LSEG.
On Thursday, it reported consolidated profit of 502 million rupees for the December quarter, nearly double year-on-year, with revenue from operations climbing 16% to 6.02 billion rupees.
Shares traded 3% higher on Friday, putting the company’s market capitalisation at more than 100 billion rupees.
ACQUISITION BLUEPRINT
Honasa is also banking on continued acquisitions to fuel further growth, a strategy it kicked off after it pivoted from being a single-brand company in 2020.
Dealmaking in India’s consumer goods and retail sector hit a four‑year high in January–September by number of deals, per investment bank Equirus Capital, with consumer majors such as Marico and Hindustan Unilever announcing more personal‑care acquisitions since.
Honasa, which has eight brands in its kitty, will pursue acquisitions in fragrance and nutrition‑oriented “inside‑out” beauty categories if suitable targets emerge, or build such brands, Alagh said.
Last month, it completed the acquisition of a men’s personal‑care brand for nearly 2 billion rupees. Currently, it has no immediate transactions in the works and has no fixed size threshold for potential targets, according to Alagh.
($1 = 90.7275 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Janane Venkatraman
