[Funding Alert] D2C Skincare Startup Prolixr Raises Seed Fund The undisclosed funding will be primarily used to expand the scalability of the brand in India and for community and product development
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Direct-to-consumer (DTC) skincare startup Prolixr on Thursday announced that it has raised an undisclosed sum of funding in a seed round from Alfa Ventures and Divij Bajaj, Founder & CEO, Power Gummies.
The startup primarily focuses on the beauty mask segment which represents a niche of the cosmetic market that has shown booming growth in the last few years. The establishment has witnessed maximum sales in the age group of 18-35 years across cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Surat, Jaipur and Hyderabad, among others.
The total sales for its flagship beauty mask-Detoxifying Sea Algae Face Mask which has gone viral on Instagram with over 100,000 customers in the last 12 months is upward of INR 10 crore.
With the Detoxifying Sea Algae Face Mask, the company claims to apply its innovative approach to the beauty face mask market which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 8 per cent during the period 2019–2025.
"Prolixr is a result of utmost dedication and passion to introduce innovation and customer-centricity to the Indian skincare industry. The market is full of offerings that are standardized and do not take Indian preferences, weather, and skin type into consideration. We saw the opportunity and bridged that gap with our premium and innovative offerings that directly spoke to the millennial woman, building resonance, and connection," said founders Prolixr Jayesh Hans and Aditya Sharma with Mayur Mahajan, in a joint statement. "With Prolixr, we want to empower millennial women to make an informed choice to experience premium skincare routines designed especially for them, without stepping into a salon. The funding validates our beliefs that the Indian skincare industry is poised for an innovative, digital, and DTC transformation."
The growing demand for a premium skincare experience without stepping out of homes during the pandemic led to the company, witnessing total revenue of INR 5.18 crore from May-October 2020.
"At Alfa Ventures, we empower homegrown entrepreneurs with funds, mentorship, and scalability to enable successful business development. We see immense potential in Prolixr and the vision of the founders to redefine the personal care industry in India with innovation," commented Alfa Ventures founder and angel investor Dhianu Das, in a statement.
Launched in 2018, the company identified gap in the skincare segment where brands were not communicating directly to consumer and offered global products with minimum consideration of the Indian ecosystem.
"The first time I met the founders and heard about their plans on introducing innovation and customer-centricity in the beauty mask industry, I knew Prolixr is on its way to being a category definer. With every other skincare brand functioning in the general category-Prolixr is the next game changer," added Power Gummies founder and chief executive officer Divij Bajaj.
The funding validates the brand's scalability and the demand for a premium skincare experience in a massive personal care industry which is touted to reach $20 billion in India by the year 2035, according to a report issued by ASSOCHAM.
Prolixr aims to achieve a target of INR 12 crore ARR by March 2021.
