[Funding alert] SUGAR Cosmetics raises $2M debt, Stride Ventures leads the round

Leading venture debt fund Stride Ventures announced on Wednesday that it led the recent funding round in Mumbai-based SUGAR Cosmetics. The Mumbai-based cosmetics startup has raised $2 million in debt in the first tranche of the Series C funding round.

Ishpreet Gandhi, Founder and Managing Partner at Stride Ventures, said:

“In a fiercely competitive landscape, SUGAR has managed to stand apart in a short span of time. Their branding, market strategy, and offering of affordable premium products greatly appeal to the growing younger demographic. The brand has quickly become a household name in the lifestyle segment..."

ALSO READ

Why venture debt can play an important role in startups building scalable models

According to a statement issued by Stride Ventures, the venture debt fund has partnered with a leading private bank for the deal. Additionally, Stride Ventures will be a strategic partner in SUGAR's growth journey, with its customised offerings and relationships across banks and corporates.

SUGAR was founded by IIM-Ahmedabad graduates Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee in 2015. It offers make-up products to suit the Indian skin tones. The cosmetics startup has recorded about 6x growth in its revenues in the last two years. The cruelty-free brand clocked net revenue worth Rs 105 crore in FY 2020 itself. SUGAR works on a hybrid model with both offline and online presence across 2,400 outlets in over 130 cities.

Co-founder and CEO Vineeta says, "SUGAR plays in a high gross margin category which makes debt a fantastic choice for us. With superior product-market fit and long-term growth appetite, we are excited about working with with Stride and their partner private bank... ” 

SUGAR is backed by A91 Partners, IndiaQuotient and others. It has over six lakh app downloads and has recorded over 2.5 million sales on the app in one day, pre-COVID.

SUGAR is Stride Venture's tenth investment from its maiden fund and its the first time that it is foraying into the lifestyle segment. Some of its other portfolio companies include BulkMRO, LetsTransport, HomeLane. CredR, and Miko, among others.