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Acquisition · Commerce & Consumer Brands

L'Oreal in talks to acquire majority stake in Innovist

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Date
Company
Innovist
What it does
Science-first personal care house
Kind
Acquisition
Amount
$350M-$450M
Based in
Gurugram
Founded
2019
Sector
Commerce & Consumer Brands

What they do

Innovist runs science-first personal care brands like Bare Anatomy and Chemist at Play

What happened

L'Oreal is in talks to buy a majority stake at a $350M-$450M valuation, with a phased deal

Why it matters

The deal would surpass HUL's purchase of Minimalist for around Rs 3,240 crore-4,170 crore; innovist's FY25 revenue jumped 3x to Rs 300 crore with first-ever…

The details

  • L'Oreal is in talks to acquire a majority stake in Innovist at a valuation of $350M-$450M (Rs 3,240 crore-4,170 crore).
  • The deal would be executed in a staggered manner, with L'Oreal first taking a controlling stake and then gradually moving to 100% ownership.
  • The acquisition is expected to be sealed by April-end if talks progress at the current pace.
  • The deal value would surpass HUL's purchase of Minimalist for around Rs 3,000 crore.
  • Innovist's founders currently hold a 49.7% stake in the company.
  • External shareholders include Sauce VC, Point72Ventures, ICICI Ventures, and Patni Financial Advisors.
  • L'Oreal's CEO Nicolas Hieronimus said India is roughly 1% of turnover and not meeting expectations, with a new set-up starting this year.

The bigger picture

  • L'Oreal's India growth slowed to about 5% last year, underperforming expectations.
  • L'Oreal launched CeraVe and La Roche-Posay in India, but they are still very small.
  • L'Oreal has a new CEO for L'Oreal India, previously in charge of CPD Mexico.
  • L'Oreal acquired Kering's beauty licenses (Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga) in 2025 for about $4.5B.
  • The acquisition would give L'Oreal a strong foothold in the fast-growing Indian premium personal care market.

About the business

  • Innovist runs science-first personal care brands including Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play, Sunscoop, and Vinci Botanicals.
  • The company focuses on clean formulations, transparent ingredients, and in-house R&D.
  • It has its own manufacturing facility.
  • Innovist's portfolio includes personalized haircare, skincare, sun protection, and botanical-based products.
  • The company reported FY25 revenue of Rs 300 crore, a 3x jump from about Rs 100 crore in FY24.
  • It achieved its first-ever profit in FY25 at Rs 12 crore, improving from a loss of Rs 12.5 crore in FY24.
  • For FY26, it projects revenue of Rs 750-770 crore, with growth over 100% year-on-year.

What happens next

  • L'Oreal plans to close the deal by April-end if talks proceed as expected.
  • The acquisition will be executed in phases, with L'Oreal eventually owning 100% of Innovist.

The deal

Type
acquisition

Investors

  • Sauce VC (existing)
  • Point72Ventures (existing)
  • ICICI Ventures (existing)
  • Patni Financial Advisors (existing)
  • Accel (existing)

Founders

  • Rohit Chawla, Co-founder
  • Vimal Bhola, Co-founder
  • Sifat Khurana, Co-founder
  • Velmurugan S. Sivappraghassan, Co-founder

About Innovist

Product
Science-led personal care and beauty products under brands like Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play, and Sunscoop.
Customers
Indian consumers looking for science-backed skincare, haircare, and sun protection products.
How it makes money
Sells products directly to consumers online, through marketplaces, quick-commerce, and offline retail partnerships.
What sets it apart
A multi-brand portfolio focusing on science-backed formulations for Indian hair and skin types.
Operations
Operates as a digital-first house of brands with omnichannel distribution across India.

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