ITC’s older private care acquisitions together with Savlon, purchased in 2015, and Nimyle, purchased in 2018, have grown to 6 to seven occasions their unique measurement, Satpathy stated. But in contrast to listed rivals akin to Hindustan Unilever and Marico, ITC just isn’t speeding to purchase unbiased manufacturers which have mushroomed throughout niches in India’s booming private care market.
“The headroom to develop in private care classes is gigantic,” Satpathy stated. “Some new manufacturers enter classes however not everybody is ready to maintain their presence.”
India’s private care market was final estimated to be price $21 billion in 2023 and is projected to develop to $34 billion by 2028, based on a report by magnificence retailer Nykaa and technique consulting agency Redseer. The general market is rising at 10–11% compound annual development price (CAGR), whereas on-line channels are increasing a lot sooner, at about 25% CAGR.
Selective bets
Thus far, ITC’s more moderen private care investments have been restricted to child care model Mom Sparsh, and Mylo, an app providing content material and merchandise for anticipating and new moms. ITC acquired a ten% stake for just below ₹40 crore in Mylo in 2022 and has been investing in Mom Sparsh in tranches since 2021. In April final 12 months, it agreed to accumulate the stability shares of Mom Sparsh by someday this 12 months. In whole, ITC would have invested ₹126 crore to purchase the corporate.
“After we purchase a model, the query is—can we give it that point and a focus it wants?” Satpathy stated. “You additionally must be clear why you might be shopping for one thing. Is it for management, or as a result of the acquired manufacturers are in white areas with distinctive strengths within the areas the place we might not have ample bandwidth or the capabilities to do what they [the acquired brand] are doing? We at all times go for the second technique.”
ITC was Mom Sparsh’s first and solely institutional investor, beginning with a Sequence A spherical in 2021. The corporate was based in 2016.
“We’ve been clear on why we’re getting into sure classes,” Satpathy stated. “Child care is a section that we have now checked out and have invested by means of startups. We really feel that child care is a class which works on excessive belief and to get client trials is troublesome. So a scaled enterprise right here may be very useful because it has a pure moat, in a really excessive margin class.”
As of FY25, Mom Sparsh reported revenues of just below ₹100 crore, up greater than six occasions from FY21, whereas its losses for FY25 stood at ₹13.2 crore, based on knowledge sourced from analysis platform Tracxn.
Friends transfer sooner
ITC’s restrained acquisition technique stands in sharp distinction to listed rivals akin to Marico and Hindustan Unilever, which have been actively investing in or buying digital-first manufacturers concentrating on premium private care niches.
Marico’s digital manufacturers portfolio has crossed ₹1,000 crore in income and is rising at a CAGR of 25%. Amongst its largest digital-first private care manufacturers is Beardo, wherein Marico first took a stake in 2017 earlier than absolutely buying it in 2020.
The corporate has since invested in nutraceuticals model Plix and natural and ayurvedic cosmetics model Simply Herbs, which crossed ₹100 crore in income final 12 months, based on a December 2025 notice by brokerage agency Emkay.
“The administration maintains its aspirations of doubling income in coming 5 years and changing into a globally acknowledged digital FMCG firm (ranked #2 in India after Honasa),” the notice stated, referring to the father or mother agency of D2C pioneer Mamaearth. “This shall be aided by actions in new development engines (20-25% CAGR), that are steadily adopting rising consumption tendencies.”
Premium private care now accounts for 16–17% of Marico’s consolidated gross sales, a notice by JM Monetary estimated earlier this month.
Hindustan Unilever, too, has been energetic, spending simply over ₹2,700 crore final 12 months to accumulate skincare model Minimalist in an all-cash deal—one of many largest exits for founders of an unbiased Indian model.
In core classes akin to soaps, Hindustan Unilever stays the market chief, with Wipro Client Care and Godrej Client Merchandise additionally commanding important share. ITC’s Fiama stays a comparatively smaller participant within the soaps section, highlighting its restricted scale in mass private care, even because it ranks second within the bathe gels market, the corporate stated in its 2023 investor day presentation.
One in all ITC’s largest private care manufacturers, Savlon, is estimated at about ₹1,000 crore in client spends, whereas Interact ranks second within the fragrances market, behind Vini Cosmetics’ Fogg.
ITC’s cautious stance in private care is in sharp distinction to its personal meals division, which has been on an acquisition spree. Final 12 months alone, ITC purchased stakes in meat manufacturers Prasuma and Meatigo and bought natural staples model 24 Mantra for ₹472.5 crore.
Chasing worth
Satpathy stated ITC’s conservative method has not held again scale in on-line channels. E-commerce platforms now contribute 25% of the private care division’s whole gross sales, whereas premium manufacturers account for about 43–44% of the portfolio by worth.
“We now have two distinct levers of development—high of the pyramid and the underside of the pyramid,” he stated. “With current discount in GST charges, a far-sighted reform by the federal government, each engines ought to now fireplace.”
ITC’s inventory has come underneath strain for the reason that authorities introduced a further excise responsibility on cigarettes, on high of the prevailing 40% GST, efficient 1 February. The inventory is down greater than 20% over the previous month, with analysts anticipating the corporate to go on the upper tax burden to shoppers.
ITC’s FMCG (Others) enterprise—which incorporates meals and private care—reported revenues of ₹11,859.56 crore within the first half of FY26 and ₹22,015.12 crore in FY25. By comparability, Marico reported revenues of over ₹6,700 crore within the first half of FY26, whereas Hindustan Unilever’s revenues stood at ₹33,103 crore over the identical interval.
Regardless of the shock to its cigarette enterprise, ITC’s different FMCG segments have but to drive the majority of its valuation, with meals contributing extra worth than private care. In a notice earlier this month, J.P. Morgan’s equities brokerage arm assigned a 6x EV/gross sales a number of to ITC’s Different FMCG enterprise, “broadly in step with the multiples of different meals friends.” The brokerage values ITC’s cigarette enterprise at 11x EV/Ebitda, paper and packaging at 15x, and agriculture at 10x.
