VLCC, a beauty and skincare brand in India, is set to mark its foray into the men’s grooming segment by acquiring Ustraa in a secondary buyout deal and a share swap deal. 

The possible acquisition will help Info Edge, 360 One and Wipro Consumer Care Ventures to become the shareholders of VLCC. 

“This partnership brings together two pioneering home-grown personal care brands - combining Ustraa's leading position in men's grooming range with VLCC's growing skincare products portfolio,” the company said in a statement. 

“We are impressed with Ustraa's leading position in (a) fast growing men’s grooming market, especially the D2C channel. Both founders have a deep understanding of the online D2C ecosystem including digital marketing, e-commerce and fast product innovation cycle which has enabled them to scale Ustraa in a short period of time,” said Vikas Gupta, the founder and CEO of VLCC. 

VLCC is planning to make more investments in Ustraa to grow its activities. 

Post-acquisition, Rahul Anand and Ranjan Tuli, the founders of Ustraa will head VLCC’s D2C activities. 

Founded in 2015, Ustraa is a men’s fashion brand that competes with Beardo, The Man Company and multiple others. Its last fundraising round came in 2022, where it raised Rs 16.8 crore from Info Edge. 

“VLCC represents a perfect strategic partner to help us broaden our customer reach, especially in offline retail. VLCC's strong management, well supported by Carlyle globally, brings the resources and sector expertise that can enable us to significantly grow our brand further and expand the range of products. We believe our combined expertise in brand building, sales, and marketing and distribution will create faster growth for both brands and we are excited to embark on the journey forward as part of the VLCC family," said the founders of Ustraa.