The Ayurveda Co shuts down after raising Rs 125 Cr; co-founder says it expanded too fast
The D2C Ayurveda brand stopped operations in July 2025 and has since liquidated its assets. Co-founder Param Bhargava said the company expanded too quickly and built out its senior team before the business was ready.
D2C beauty and wellness brand The Ayurveda Co (TAC) is formally shutting down, more than a year after it stopped operations, co-founder Param Bhargava said on Thursday. The company ceased operations in July 2025, following which its assets were liquidated.
The brand has remained inactive since then and is now being formally closed. The closure brings the curtains down on a consumer brand that raised around Rs 125 crore in venture capital, built an extensive online and offline distribution network, and at its peak employed more than 1,000 people across on-roll and off-roll roles.
What went wrong
Bhargava attributed the failure largely to expanding faster than the underlying business could sustainably support. He said TAC expanded too quickly across too many channels and hired senior executives before its operational systems were mature enough for that scale. In an effort to turn the business around, the founders went without salaries for over a year and mortgaged family property before ultimately deciding to wind down operations. Bhargava also took responsibility for the strategic missteps, saying there were several decisions he would make differently in hindsight.
Rapid growth and offline expansion
During its run, TAC scaled to more than Rs 150 crore in annual gross merchandise value (GMV), according to Singh Bhargava. Across TAC and the founders' earlier venture, Khadi Essentials, the two businesses generated roughly Rs 250 crore in net revenue and reached 20 lakh consumers over seven years, according to Bhargava. At their peak, the businesses spanned 20 owned stores, 800 beauty-advisor counters, 110 operational distributors, and more than 10,000 retail touchpoints.
Funding and expansion
TAC raised $3 million in 2022 in a round led by Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, with participation from Rahul Gupta of Tricity Technologies and Harsh Gupta of the School of Design and Entrepreneurship. That was followed by a Rs 100 crore ($12.2 million) Series A round in 2023 led by Sixth Sense Ventures, with participation from actor Kajal Aggarwal, startup founders and venture debt funds. The company planned to use the capital to expand its offline presence, strengthen manufacturing and R&D, and build greater digital awareness around Ayurveda.
At the time of the Series A fundraise, TAC had more than 100 products across 20 brand outlets and over 5,000 retail stores. Bhargava had also said then that TAC was aiming to become a profitable unicorn by FY26 and pursue an IPO by FY28. Those ambitions ultimately did not materialise.
What next
Bhargava said he plans to remain in the broader health and longevity space for his next venture. He also indicated that he was open to discussions around The Ayurveda Co brand with entrepreneurs interested in building in the Ayurveda category.