With an investment in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) firm SUGAR Cosmetics, Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has become the latest to join the Indian start-up scene. The statement was made by the Homegrown Cosmetics brand on Saturday, but no details about Ranveer’s investment were provided.
The involvement of the film star follows the company’s USD 50 million Series D funding in June, led by L Catterton and previous investors A91 Partners, Elevation Capital, and India Quotient. SUGAR Cosmetics began as a direct-to-consumer brand in 2015 and expanded into the offline market in 2017. It currently has yearly sales of over Rs 550 crore and a physical presence with over 45,000 retail touch points across the country.
“I’ve admired SUGAR’s ability to establish a huge fan base over the years, and I’m pleased to be a part of this journey and assist the company to realize its aim of providing Indian women access to premium and quality beauty products exclusively formulated for them,” Singh said. According to the company, Ranveer’s new investment “is likely to greatly support SUGAR’s expansion in additional potential markets.”
“SUGAR is the cosmetics brand of choice for brave, independent women who refuse to be categorized into roles,” stated Vineeta Singh, co-founder, and CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics. “This will assist in supercharging our growth trajectory as we continue developing SUGAR quickly to create a major and well-loved makeup and beauty brand,” said Cofounder and COO Kaushik Mukherjee.
Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh’s actress-wife, has invested in various businesses through her investing arm KA Enterprises, including Epigamia, Nua, Blu Smart, Bellatrix Aerospace, and Atomberg Technologies, among others. Other celebrities who have invested in startups include actor Katrina Kaif, who has invested in Nykaa. Anushka Sharma has invested in and serves as a brand ambassador for the alternative meat company Blue Tribe Foods. Pankaj Tripathi, an actor, has invested in the agritech portal Krishi Network. Among others, Alia Bhatt has invested in the IIT-Kanpur-incubated Phool.
