BS READS: How Beardo shaped hair grooming biz into an investors' gold mine

Built on an initial investment of mere Rs three crore, Beardo sold at an estimated valuation of Rs 350-400 crore in a two-phased acquisition by Marico

Early last month, men’s grooming start-up Beardo was acquired by Marico, delivering a stellar exit for both, the founders and early investors in the company.

Beardo, whose ad campaign with Suniel Shetty sporting a perfectly groomed beard and a luscious crop of hair, gathered a lot of social media attention, consists of products ranging from beard waxes to beard-shaping tools.

The company attained profitability in a segment almost non-existent a few years ago. As a crude proxy for the segment’s popularity, most of the Rakhi gift hamper deals for brothers on most popular ecommerce websites were shaving and grooming kits.