The acquisition involves a majority stake in Innovist, an Indian online personal care and beauty brand group founded in 2019 by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana, and Vimal Bhola.
Portfolio and Digital Distribution
Innovist brings together brands such as Bare Anatomy and Chemist at Play, which are sold directly through proprietary platforms, on e-commerce marketplaces, and via quick commerce, as well as through national retail partnerships.
Team Retention and Integration
Innovist’s founding team will remain on board as minority shareholders and will continue to lead and grow the company in collaboration with L’Oréal India. Jacques Lebel, Managing Director of L’Oréal India, highlights the opportunity to bring L’Oréal closer to the generation of Indian consumers who are very comfortable with digital technology.
«We founded Innovist with the belief that Indian consumers deserve beauty products backed by real science, with complete transparency regarding their formulations, and that these products could be manufactured in India to global standards.», says Rohit Chawla, CEO and founder of Innovist.
L’Oréal will integrate Innovist’s brands into the Consumer Products Division’s portfolio and will consolidate Innovist’s sales effective as of the transaction’s closing date. The agreement also provides for the possibility that L’Oréal may, over time, buy out the minority shareholders’ interests in full.
«By combining the best of L’Oréal’s global expertise with Innovist’s high-performance, science-based products, as well as its deep understanding of Indian consumers, I am confident that we are ready to shape the future of beauty in this dynamic market.», says Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L’Oréal.
The transaction is expected to be finalized in the coming months, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
