Honasa to acquire 58% stake in nutraceutical company Fluence Pharma
Beauty and personal care company Honasa Consumer Ltd will acquire 58% stake in Fluence Pharma, a science-backed nutraceuticals company, at an enterprise value of ₹135
Beauty and personal care company Honasa Consumer Ltd will acquire 58% stake in Fluence Pharma, a science-backed nutraceuticals company, at an enterprise value of ₹135 crore. Honasa, which sells brands like Mamaearth and Aqualogica, will acquire the remaining 42% stake in two tranches over the next 5–7 years at a pre-aligned valuation construct, the company said in an exchange filing on Tuesday. On Tuesday, shares of Honasa closed 1% higher at ₹420 on the Stock Exchange, while the benchmark Nifty 50 closed 1.16% lower on Tuesday. The acquisition of Fluence Pharma, which sells products under the FACT (Fluence Advanced Cyclical Therapy) brand offering condition and gender-specific, OTC supplement doses for hair and skin conditions, marks Honasa's entry into the high-growth nutraceuticals space, the company said.
Honasa Consumer has set up a subsidiary, Honasa Health Pvt. Ltd, to tap into the medical practitioner network, consumer insights, and digital-first distribution that Fluence has built. The subsidiary will be headed by Dheeraj Nagpal, chief executive officer (CEO) of Honasa Health and the co-founder of the nutraceuticals brand Zingavita. India's nutraceuticals market is currently valued at over ₹16,000 crore and is expected to grow at a rate of 11%, the company said. “While the last decade was shaped by topical actives, we believe the next decade will be defined by the powerful convergence of science-backed skin and hair care, and nutraceuticals,” Varun Alagh, co-founder and CEO, Honasa Consumer Ltd, said in a statement.
Fluence is known for its differentiated and patented cyclical nutrition therapy and strong dermatologist-led distribution network. Cyclical nutrition therapy includes over-the-counter supplements administered in a structured sequence to maximise efficacy. It was founded by Amit Bhusari, a nutraceutical veteran with over 20 years of category expertise, and Rajendra Singh Rajput, a trichologist (treats human hair and scalp) and dermatologist (treats human skin) and inventor of Cyclical Nutrition Therapy. The brand is prescribed by over 3,000 dermatologists, according to the statement. Indian FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies are increasingly entering into nutraceuticals space.
Industry giant HUL acquired OZiva which specializes in plant-based, clean-label nutrition, while Marico acquired a majority stake in plant-based nutrition and D2C brand Plix. Tata Consumer acquired Organic India, known for its herbal supplements and organic teas.
The BriefWire