Kareena Kapoor Enters Joint Venture with Owner of Sugar Cosmetics

Vellvette Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd., the company behind the beauty brand Sugar Cosmetics, has forged a joint venture with actress Kareena Kapoor Khan for its skincare brand, Quench Botanics. This partnership sees Khan becoming a strategic investor and co-owner, leveraging her significant social media presence to promote the brand.

Quench Botanics was introduced by Vellvette Lifestyle last year, with a focus on bringing Korean beauty products and regimens to the Indian market. These products are currently manufactured in Korea and are available in 1,000 brick-and-mortar stores.

The decision to collaborate with Kareena Kapoor Khan was prompted by discussions held earlier in the fiscal year. Khan, who is also the face of Reliance Retail’s beauty platform, Tira, joins the brand as an investor and co-owner.

Vineeta Singh, co-founder & CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, highlighted the complementary strengths Khan and the company bring to the venture. Sugar Cosmetics mainly specializes in colored cosmetics, such as lipsticks, eye shadow sticks, and cream concealers, competing with brands like Lakme and Maybelline. Quench Botanics, on the other hand, is dedicated to creams, skin patches, serums, and other skincare products.

Within the next two to three years, skincare is anticipated to constitute about 15% of the company’s revenue, coinciding with its anticipated listing on the public market.

Celebrities increasingly venture into the beauty product industry or collaborate with companies to lend their names to brands. Given the rapid growth of the beauty market, India’s beauty and personal care (BPC) market is expected to reach $30 billion by 2027, as reported by the consulting firm RedSeer.

Vineeta Singh explained, “India is the only market in the world where the beauty and personal care market is set to grow in double-digits over the next decade. Celebrities see that there will be large brands that didn’t exist five years ago. I feel they’ve realized that partnering with companies, which will create the brands of the future, will help them have a long-term impact, as opposed to say annual endorsement opportunities which are really linked to a celebrity’s career in that given year.”

Vellvette Lifestyle had secured $50 million in a Series D funding round led by L Catterton’s Asia fund in May of the previous year. In September 2022, Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh acquired a minority stake in the beauty and personal care company. As of now, the company is not actively seeking another round of fundraising, focusing instead on prudent cash flow management. Sugar Cosmetics initiated as a direct-to-consumer beauty brand in 2015 and has expanded to more than 45,000 retail locations across 550 cities, with 50% of its sales stemming from online commerce.