ITC to acquire 16% stake in D2C natural personal care brand Mother Sparsh

Mother Sparsh said that it is raising Rs 20 crore in Series A funding from ITC. Company plans to deploy the funds towards enhancement of its R&D capabilities, digital capabilities

FMCG giant ITC said it has agreed to invest in Mother Sparsh Baby Care Private Limited (‘Mother Sparsh’), a premium ayurvedic and natural personal care brand in the D2C space with a focus on the mother and baby care segment. It has a wide range of baby and mother care products that leverages the wisdom and knowledge of Ayurveda for potent product delivery. ITC has agreed to acquire 16 per cent of the share capital of Mother Sparsh on a fully diluted basis. 

Mother Sparsh said that it is raising Rs 20 crore in Series A funding from ITC. The company plans to deploy the funds towards enhancement of its R&D capabilities, digital capabilities, driving new product launches and expanding the team.

“We are elated to be associated with a partner like ITC whose ethos compliments our brand vision,” said Mother Sparsh co-founder and CEO Himanshu Gandhi. “ITC is in sync with what we envisioned as the future of Mother Sparsh. We expect to scale-up our revenues to Rs 300 crore over the next three to five years.”

Another Mother Sparsh co-founder Rishu Gandhi said that  ITC’s decision to invest in the company was propelled by the wide portfolio and mix of products, which enabled Mother Sparsh to grow from strength to strength each year.

“It assumes significance in wake of a multi-fold increase in the website sales clocked by the brand over the past few months,” said Rishu Gandhi. “The company at present registers over 85 per cent of its sales through online channels and has over the past 12 months diversified its product portfolio by over 25 per cent.”

This investment is in line with the ‘ITC Next’ strategy articulated by Chairman Sanjiv Puri which aims to build a future-ready organization with a digital-first culture. One of the identified pillars of this strategy is to accelerate digital transformation by developing digital-first FMCG brands. ITC has also been focusing on strengthening D2C platforms of distribution and has created a vibrant ITC eStore.

Recognising the significant potential of naturals and Ayurveda, ITC has taken this strategic step forward to invest in this segment. Over the last few years, ITC has been engaging with the start-up ecosystem whilst also exploring innovative distribution channels.

“We believe that this investment provides an exciting opportunity which is in alignment with our aspiration to have a significant play both in the naturals and ayurvedic segment as well as in the D2C channel,” said Sameer Satpathy, chief executive, personal care products business, ITC. “Mother Sparsh has, within a short span of time, evolved into an effective D2C brand with a range of innovative products and a lot of promise.”