Beauty e-tailer Purplle secures $30 mn from Goldman, others

Purplle, the online beauty and personal care platform, has raised $30 million in series-C funding round, led by global investment bank Goldman Sachs. This round has also seen participation from existing investors, including IvyCap Ventures, Blume Ventures, and JSW Ventures.

The fresh capital will be used by the company to build a unique supply of brands and products on the platform through a partnership with global brand houses and own brands and to enhance its data stack through investments in digital women-focused content. Purplle will also utilize funds to create a global supply chain of world-class beauty products.

Started in 2012, Purplle offers personalised digital shopping experiences for consumers by creating detailed user personas. It enables customers to test make-up, for instance, with the platform recommending products based on persona, search keywords, and purchase behaviour. 

Manish Taneja, Co-Founder and CEO, Purplle, said, “This investment from Goldman Sachs is a testament to the promise and potential of Purplle. This new funding will help propel the business to its next phase of growth for our customers and investors.”

Purplle’s Growth Plans

The $7 billion domestic online beauty and personal care market is estimated to be growing at more than 15% CAGR. This will be helped by increasing awareness of the category and penetration in second and third-tier cities.

Presently, Purplle provides a wide assortment of 47,500 SKUs across 1,000+ third-party and owned brands. Over the past two years, the company claims that its net merchandise value has over quadrupled.

Rahul Dash, Co-Founder of Purplle, stated, “This milestone funding will help us expand and strengthen our supply chain, marketing, and technology.  Given our rate of progress, we expect our growth in scale and size to expand ten-fold by the end of 2023.”

Currently, Purplle has more than 450 employees and to be growing by over 100% year-on-year.

Other Fundraise

Prior to this round, Purplle had secured $10 million over the past six years, taking the total funds raised to date to $110 million.   

Niladri Mukhopadhyay, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs, added, “Purplle, which has managed impressive growth while applying financial discipline, is one of the most promising vertical e-commerce platforms in India. The successful combination of best-in-class technology with their own innovative brands and localized beauty content is a key differentiator in this rapidly growing segment of India’s online market. We look forward to leveraging our global experience and network for the continued growth of Purplle.”