Prolixr, a DTC (direct-to-consumer) and homegrown millennial skincare startup, announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a seed round from Alfa Ventures and Divij Bajaj, Founder & CEO, Power Gummies.
With a vision to offer premium and innovative skincare experience to millennial women within the comfort of their homes, Prolixr has already witnessed exponential growth in the business. The total sales for its flagship beauty mask – Detoxifying Sea Algae Face Mask which has gone viral on Instagram with 1 lakh+ customer in just 12 months is upward of Rs 10 crore.
The growing demand for a premium skincare experience without stepping out of homes during the pandemic led to Prolixr witnessing a total revenue of Rs 5.18 crore in the last 6 months (May-October 2020). Prolixr primarily focuses on the Beauty Mask segment which represents a niche of the cosmetic market that has shown booming growth in the last few years.
The funding validates the brand’s scalability and the demand for a premium skincare experience in a massive personal care industry which is touted to reach US$ 20 billion in India by the year 2035, as per ASSOCHAM report. Prolixr will use this funding for – expansion, R&D/product development, and community development. Prolixr is on track to achieve a target of Rs 12 crore ARR by March 2021.
Founded in December 2018, Prolixr resonates with the ideologies of a modern, millennial Indian woman. It offers authentic, latest on-trend, safe, high-quality, allergy-tested products to women who are looking for a quick and effective skincare routine that does not take too much of one’s time and focus, but in fact is simple and easy to use.
With the Detoxifying Sea Algae Face Mask, Prolixr brings its expert knowledge and innovative approach to the beauty face mask market which is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 8 percent during the period 2019–2025. Prolixr has witnessed maximum sales in the age group of 18-35 years across cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Surat, Jaipur, Hyderabad, and others.
Jayesh Hans, Aditya Sharma, and Mayur Mahajan, Founders, Prolixr, said, “Prolixr is a result of utmost dedication and passion to introduce innovation and customer-centricity to the Indian skincare industry. The market is full of offerings that are standardized and do not take Indian preferences, weather, and skin type into consideration. We saw the opportunity and bridged that gap with our premium and innovative offerings that directly spoke to the millennial woman, building resonance, and connection. With Prolixr, we want to empower millennial women to make an informed choice to experience premium skincare routines designed especially for them, without stepping into a salon. The funding validates our beliefs that the Indian skincare industry is poised for an innovative, digital, and DTC transformation.”
Dhianu Das, prominent angel investor, and Founder – Alfa Ventures, said, “At Alfa Ventures, we empower homegrown entrepreneurs with funds, mentorship, and scalability to enable successful business development. We see immense potential in Prolixr and the vision of the founders to redefine the personal care industry in India with innovation. ”
“The first time I met the founders and heard about their plans on introducing innovation and customer-centricity in the beauty mask industry, I knew Prolixr is on its way to being a category definer. With every other skincare brand functioning in the general category- Prolixr is the next game changer,” said Divij Bajaj, Founder & CEO – Power Gummies.
Prolixr is founded by 3 best friends – Jayesh, Aditya, and Mayur who have a deep understanding of what clicks with millennials. They identified a gap in the skincare segment where brands were not directly speaking to the consumer and offered global products with minimum consideration of the Indian ecosystem. All three of them felt that India came up short on a brand which could resonate with millennials and the forthcoming sector of Gen Z. To bridge this gap, Jayesh and Mayur brought their expertise in scaling DTC Brands through their online marketing abilities and Aditya brought his prior knowledge in the personal care industry accomplished through his family-owned salon business to build Prolixr. They bootstrapped the brand in 2017 and launched their first product in the year 2018.
The Detoxifying Sea Algae Face Mask was built on consumer research which revealed that millennial women want a quick and effective skincare routine at home that could replicate the convenience and benefit of a salon. The innovation – Sea Algae offers insurmountable benefits since seaweed acts as the ocean’s natural filtration system – helping to detoxify and declutter. Prolixr also introduced the Indian skincare industry to a mini brush applicator replacing the use of hands to apply creams which is not ideal, hygienic, or convenient.
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