Our country, India, is seeing so many unicorn startups this year. It is such a pleasant and piece of interesting news which needs a lot of admiration and appreciation.
Let us talk about unicorn startups. Explaining what a unicorn startup is, it is a privately owned startup/ company/ entity that has a value of more than USD 1 billion. The term “Unicorn Startup” was first given in the year 2013 by Aileen Lee, who named such startups after seeing the scarcity of such in the economic system. When she gave this name, there were just 30 startups whose value was more than USD 1 billion. Aileen Lee is the founder of Cowboy Ventures, which is a seed-stage venture capital firm and is based in Palo Alto, California.
Some of the common features of a unicorn startup are-
1. They are disruptive when it comes to innovation.
2. They are highly dependent on technology and has a high performing technological platform.
3. A unicorn startup brings something new to the market; it has the advantage of first-mover advantage.
4. The business line of a unicorn startup is made keeping in mind the customer; it is always a customer-oriented startup.
Let us now talk about a startup that has turned into a unicorn recently.
Announcement of a unicorn startup
The startup, MamaEearth, has raised funds worth USD 37.5 billion, as announced on December 29, 2021. This round of funding was the Series F round of funding and was led by Sequoia Capital Growth Fund III. The startup for this round has issued 839 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS), with the face value of INR 10 each at a total price of INR 33,85,049 each for consideration in cash.
Post this round of funding, the value of the startup has come close to USD 1.07 billion, thus entering the famous “Unicorn Club”. The startup has become the 44th unicorn startup of India for the year 2021. The startup plans to utilize the funds raised for business expansion. It will also use a portion of funds in funding some operations of the business.
The startup in the month of July had raised USD 50 million from Sofina Ventures SA, which is a European Investment firm, and Sequoia Capital. The value of the startup post this round of funding had come to USD 730 million. The startup had used these funds to support and increase the growth of the brand through expansion of its offline distribution and even look into opportunities in inorganic growth in beauty and personal care.
About the newly turned unicorn startup
The startup, MamaEarth, was launched in the year 2016 by husband and wife Gazal and Varun Alagh and has its headquarters in Gurugram. It is one of the fastest-growing brands in the FMCG sector of the country. It has around 140 stock-keeping units in baby care, skincare, and hair care segments.
Talking about the story of the startup, the founders are any other parents. The journey began when the founders were expecting their first child. That was the time they turned from bungee jumping, pub hopping, carefree couple to basically a couple of safety wardens. They were careful of everything and were doing extensive research. When the expecting mother started having morning sickness, they were shocked to find that there were no safer alternatives to pills and ended up having to struggle a lot.
After nine rigorous months, they were blessed with their tiny bundle of joy, and just like every parent in the world, they too wanted the best for their cute kid. So they did their research and were again shocked to see that how most baby products, be it lotion or shampoo, contained toxins that have proven to be harmful to the little ones. They were worried not just for their kids but for all the little ones they knew in their friends’ circle.
That is when they decided to do something about it and create products that are completely safe and certified toxin-free. A brand, by the parent, for the parent. A brand that develops products from world-class research and attempts to solve every little problem that parents face. With the aim of making products that are mum-baby friendly, toxin-free, meet stringent international standards, and are basically ultra awesome, MamaEarth was born.
The aim of the startup is to build a brand that is every parents’ friend. A friend who understands knows the issues and tries hard to resolve them, most of them. A brand that every parent can trust, a brand that intends to make the lives of mum and expectant mums better and beautiful. A brand that welcomes all the babies to a healthy and safe world. The startup aspires to take care of every parent’s and babys’ well-being from head to toe with safe, toxin-free, international standard products that you can think of without having to think twice.
What is the startup doing every day to achieve its aims?
The startup is following these points to achieve its aims-
Safety– The startup is Asia’s 1st brand with MADE SAFE Certified Products. All the products go through all the required tests, and meet the safety standards that the parents expect. The startup has a stringent set of super safe standards and if a product is unsafe, then it is not for the baby’s world and is not from MamaEarth.
Mum Empowerment– A mom understands a baby like no one else, and even if that is just with her intuition. The startup is continuously working with a panel of mums, who give genuine reviews of the products, which the startup further uses on its improvisation and for creating new solutions. All the products are by the moms, for the moms, and through the moms.
Honesty– The startup understands how important it is for a parent to know what they are feeding and using on their baby. The products at MamaEarth evolve with honesty and transparency. It provides the opportunity for the users to read every ingredient that is added to the products.
Best of Earth– The startup believes in delivering products that are gentle and hardworking. In this attempt, it makes sure to use the best available ingredients, which are natural, plant-based, or manmade, and are both certified safe and efficacious in getting the job done. The startup buys them from the best resources in the world, which are ISO, GMP, and Non-GMO compliant. The top priority of the startup is the well-being and health of the baby.
The competitors of the startup are WOW Skin Care, Body Cupid, SkinKraft, Juicy Chemistry, Plum, and many others.
The startup, MamaEarth has a huge variety to offer and is doing really good and is growing amazingly well. We wish the startup a piece of good luck and a bright and successful future ahead.
Article Proof Read & Published by Gauri Malhotra.
