Fashion Startup Founded By IIT Delhi Alumnus Debut As India’s Largest Unicorn In June 2022

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Manish Taneja graduated from IIT Delhi with not one, but two degrees. That’s right, on graduation he held a dual degree (B.Tech + M.Tech) in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi, and like any other genius IITian, he landed himself a well-paid job. But after 3 years in the corporate sector, he figured out that it wasn’t exactly for him.

He left his job and founded Manash Lifestyle Pvt in 2012 with Rahul Dash and Suyash Katyayani, two other IITians. And in the fiscal year ending in March, it had USD 180 million in gross merchandise value, with over 60,000 beauty and personal care goods and accessories from over 1,000 brands available on its website and app.

Also read: This IIT-Grad Couple Quit Their US-based Jobs & Started Their Own Farm In Madhya Pradesh!

But does the company sound unfamiliar, that is because today it is much more popularly known as - purplle. It has certainly lived up to its catchy tagline ‘Har Indian Ka Beauty Destination’, with the brand now being a household name all across India.

The Startup's Success

In October 2021, Manish Taneja made a statement, "Right time for us is to continue to build momentum, keep growing at 80 percent year-on-year. In three-four years, we will be like a mammoth potentially going for an IPO”.

Last week, the company raised USD 215 million in total funding and plans to use the funds to increase technical investments, develop labels, and refine its product to perfection. And on doing so, it has become the second company to reach unicorn status in the past week and the 102nd one overall. The other is the edtech company Physicswallah, founded by Alakh Pandey.

Also read: Meet India's 2021 Unicorn Startups that have brought the Historic Boom

Purplle, backed by Goldman Sachs, is now one of the greatest competitors of NYKAA, which almost holds a monopoly in the cosmetics sector with its current market capitalization standing at USD 8.7 billion.

Like its competitor, Purplle also sells its products under a private label but it targets middle-class buyers from small towns who look for value. The parent of another popular cosmetics retailer, MyGlamm also made its debut on the unicorn startup list a year ago. With more and more competitors entering the market, the race is getting heated up. But as the younger generation grows, so does the insane demand for beauty products, and as long as this is the case, opportunities for such companies are limitless.

“Consumer products makers may be seeing inflationary pressures, but Purplle continues to clock 70% year-on-year volume growth," says Manish Taneja.

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