Deconstruct Receives USD Two Million As Funding Under CXXO Programme

Bengaluru based skincare start-up, Deconstruct Skincare, has raised USD two million in funding led by Kalaari Capital’s flagship program, CXXO, and Venture Capitalist firm, Beenext. The company says that the raised amount will be used to increase research and development, hiring and production capacity. Doing this will eventually help the company in achieving its aim to become an INR 100 Cr brand in the upcoming two years.

Deconstruct was founded by Malini Adapureddy, in 2021, and develops skincare products with the help of scientific research. The brand claims to adhere to the motto of “information over impulse” and wants to educate consumers about the ingredients in skincare products. Since its inception, the company has seen a monthly growth rate of 25 to 30 percents.

Commenting on the funding, Malini said, “Kalaari came in, from a very principle thought process, and undertook a detailed understanding of the business. This provided me confidence that they can be valuable as partners who go beyond the capital. Kalaari has invested in multiple consumer businesses and has seen them scale, and this will help us.”

According to Kalaari’s official website, CXXO is a mixture of ‘CEO’ and ‘XX’. The ‘XX’ element symbolizes the female chromosomes, which means the whole initiative is focussed to help female entrepreneurs. Before Deconstruct, four more start-ups have been chosen under the program. Kalaari has allocated an amount of USD 10 million for 8 to 10 women entrepreneurs in the first phase of this program.

Similar to many other industries, skin care also witnessed a downfall due to Covid-19 pandemic. With skin nutrition products experiencing a decline in demand in every location, the global market showed a decrease of 29.43 percent, in 2020, as compared to the average annual increase between 2017 and 2019. As things are changing and coming back to the track, the market is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 5.52 per cent between 2021 and 2028, rising from USD 100.13 billion in 2021 to USD 145.82 billion in 2028.

In the context of India, the market was estimated to be worth USD 2.6 billion in 2021. Moreover, the market is anticipated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of more than 10 during the forecast period of 2021-26. In 2021, facial care was the market's largest segment in terms of both value and volume. Most of the products and services in the skin are served through Convenience stores or retails channels. Still, due to the invasion of so much technology in our life, skin care brands have also acquired the omnichannel approach in the aftermath of lockdown.  The biggest skincare markets in India can be found in Mumbai, followed by Delhi and Kolkata.

Unilever, L'Oreal S.A., Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, Amway Corporation, Emami Limited, Oriflame Cosmetics S.A., Piramal Enterprises, The Himalaya Drug Company, Pfizer Inc., and Zydus Wellness Ltd. are a few of the major leaders in India's skincare industry. In terms of valuation, Unilever was the top-ranking firm.