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Beauty and personal care unicorn Purplle has secured Rs 1,000 crore in a funding round led by a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), with participation from other investors.

The omnichannel beauty platform’s latest funding round includes a mix of primary and secondary shares.

The Mumbai-based company also announced an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) liquidity programme, offering Rs 50 crore in liquidity to its employees. The company stated that it has granted ESOPs to 320 employees to date, with 85 of them having liquidated ESOPs worth Rs 75 crore through three buyback programmes.

The company, catering to the beauty needs of customers in Tier II and III cities, claims to have grown its Gross Merchandise Value by approximately 4X over the past three years. GMV is the total amount of money made from selling goods through a marketplace in a given time period.

“It is our mission to democratise beauty and make it accessible to all, and while we have reached many beauty enthusiasts across India, we still have a long way to go,” Manish Taneja, Co-founder and CEO of Purplle said, adding that the firm is pursuing its vision of “building a sustainable and profitable business”.

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Purplle co-founders (L to R): Rahul Dash and Manish Taneja

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90-seconds with YS Life: Manish Taneja, Co-founder and CEO, Purplle

Purplle said that it is operationally profitable and expects to grow its online platform while scaling offline stores.

“We will constantly innovate and leverage our technology and data capabilities to provide our customers with the best omnichannel experience,” Taneja added.

The beauty and grooming products marketplace became a unicorn, valued at $1.1 billion, following a $33 million Series E funding round in 2022.

Founded in 2012 by Manish Taneja and Rahul Das, Purplle is backed by investors including a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA, Kedaara, Premji Invest, Sequoia Capital India, Goldman Sachs, Verlinvest, Blume Ventures, and Paramark Ventures.

In October 2023, JSW Ventures fully exited its shareholding in Purplle, selling to Manipal Education and Medical Group Family Office, achieving a 2.7X return.

In FY23, Purplle reported an operating revenue of Rs 475 crore, up from Rs 219 crore the previous year, while its loss widened to Rs 230 crore from Rs 203 crore the year before.