Colgate-Palmolive buys minority stake in grooming firm Bombay Shaving Co

Company raises Series-A investment from Colgate and existing investor Fireside Ventures

Bombay Shaving Company, an online men’s grooming brand and a pioneer in the direct-to-consumer market in India, announced on Thursday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in series A funding from a clutch of investors, including Colgate Palmolive Asia Pacific Limited, a subsidiary of the Colgate-Palmolive based in Hong Kong, and existing investors Fireside Ventures. As part of the transaction, Colgate-Palmolive has picked up a minority stake in the company.

Founded two years ago, Bombay Shaving Company has expanded quickly to over 80,000 customers and a portfolio of over 30 products across shaving, bath and body, skin and beard care categories. 

Shantanu Deshpande, Chief Executive at BSC, said, “We’re thrilled to have raised this round from stellar investors focused in the CPG space. All our investors to date have a track record of being patient, supportive, financial backers with learning intent. Building a consumer brand in India needs time, capital and long-term vision. After having proven product-market fit with promising repeat rates and product response, we are now looking to scale the brand.”

Men’s grooming is proving to be a fast-growing category in the FMCG space in India with growth rates estimated at 30% annually. Many young companies have come up in the past 3-4 years, and even established brands have upped investing in product launches and marketing efforts.

“We met with the team from Colgate-Palmolive and were very excited by the synergies across technology, direct-to-consumer distribution and supply chain. The young team at BSC stands to leverage decades of experience in Colgate-Palmolive to grow the BSC brand and reach,” said S Ramadorai, former Vice-Chairman at TCS, and a long-term backer of BSC.

“India is switching to premium brands rapidly. Young men in India are demanding more thoughtfully crafted products. The BSC team has been able to quickly ramp up its product portfolio and expansion of its online platform. We see BSC building a strong brand with emotional appeal and a compelling product narrative.” says Kanwaljit Singh, founder of Fireside Ventures and board member at BSC.

The funds will be used to invest in brand building, product development and expanding capabilities in technology and sales. 

Bombay Shaving Company was launched in June 2016 after spotting a clear gap in the shaving space in India. Aside from Deshpande, the founding team includes Raunak Munot, who was the Director for Social Media at GroupM in New York, and Rohit Jaiswal, IIMU alumnus and former Crompton Greaves executive. In two years, the company has seen 100% quarterly growth and is now available in 500 offline shelves.

Fireside Ventures is an early stage consumer brand-focused venture fund with a focus on consumer brands. Launched in 2017, Fireside invests in young start-ups and supports them through their evolution by providing in-house resources along with a partner and advisor network. The fund aims to invest in consumer brands across sectors such as food and beverages, personal care and home products. It was founded by Kanwaljit Singh, who was previously associated with early-stage venture capital firm Helion Venture Partners. Singh has experience of more than 30 years in consumer marketing and venture investing space in companies such as Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Intel and Carlyle Group. The founding team also includes Vinay Singh as Partner. He has more than 10 years of experience across consumer brands and digital marketing. The team also has VS Kannan Sitaram as Venture Partner. He has more than 36 years of experience across business, brands and investing.

Fireside Ventures current portfolio includes Yoga Bar, Samosa Singh, Goodness Beverages, De-sign Café, Bombay Shaving Company, Mama Earth, Vahdam Teas, Kwik 24 and Alpha Vector, Pipa Bella and boAt.