Building a digital CPG giant in India: Our investment in MyGlamm

Consumers in India are changing the way they buy beauty and personal care products. 

What used to be about walking into a neighborhood store and choosing from one of the few available products in each category has transformed into a multi-channel, digital-first journey. Today, consumers are much more informed about the products they purchase, and to this end, they increasingly engage with online forums to research products that are appropriate to their skin or body type, read about the ingredients to make sure they are ethically sourced, and consume videos on social media to understand how to use the products to drive desired results.

This shift has accelerated dramatically in the last year due to the pandemic, as consumers have moved to online channels faster. As we dug deeper, we realized that consumers are unhappy with the products offered by traditional CPG companies: one-size-fits-all, lack of rapid iteration, lack of transparency in ingredients, and unclear efficacy. For us at Accel, this highlighted the need for a new age, digital-first, content-led beauty and personal care (BPC) brand. 

When we met Darpan, CEO and Co-founder of MyGlamm, the first thing that stood out was his ambition. He didn't just want to create a large company, he wanted to do it while laying the foundations for a generational company. He had made hard choices early on his journey —choosing to sell through his own channels without relying on large marketplaces, building a house of brands early on to appeal to different customer segments. All of this in order to build the digital version of the traditional CPG giants likeUnilever, P&G, L'Oreal, etc. 

This clarity of vision was compelling. 

The second thing that stood out was his hustle, decisiveness, and resilience—he's been through it all, he started a company and took it public and pivoted the MyGlamm business when it nearly ran out of money. Through it all, he's only become a more experienced leader and focused on building a company that is generational.

The last year has been a true demonstration of Darpan’s agility and resilience: the business nearly shut down during the first wave of COVID, but Darpan spotted a unique opportunity, the acceleration in online adoption and content-driven sales. He quickly stitched together a partnership with POPxo,India’s largest women-first community run by Co-founder Priyanka Gill, who brings an innate eye for content and engagement. This gave MyGlamm a unique content-driven acquisition flywheel which got them back on the hyper-growth track. Spot opportunities and move decisively: This exemplified Darpan’s style. 

Over the last few years, the MyGlamm team has built a unique house of D2C brands, centered around content properties to engage and educate customers on various products. Their compelling content attracts millions of women every day which then drives the flywheel of commerce.

Today we are excited to announce our growth investment in MyGlamm. We look forward to working with Darpan and supporting him in building the next-gen CPG company!

Anand, Prashanth, Manasi and Rachit