Emami Acquires 100% Stake in Men’s Grooming Brand ‘The Man Company’

Emami, the FMCG Company of India, has entered into a Binding Agreement with Helios Lifestyle (‘Helios’)-known by its premium men’s grooming brand, The Man Company-to fully acquire the latter by buying the balance 49.60% stake. Helios is a subsidiary of Emami at present.

The Man Company is a digital-first lifestyle brand offering head-to-toe range premium men’s grooming products in Fragrances, Skin Care, Hair Care, Body Care, and Beard Management categories. Its products are available across online and offline channels at all online marketplaces, including its own website, app, and EBOs or modern trade chains.

This acquisition will also further strengthen Emami’s presence in the fast-growing digital-first premium male grooming segment. Indian men are increasingly aware that it is very important to appear well-groomed if they are looking to outshine others in a competitive environment. Male grooming products are therefore seeing rapid acceptance, forcing impressive growth of the market. The segment offers huge potential for innovation and growth. Emami is already very active in the male grooming segment through its brand Fair and Handsome.

Harsha V Agarwal, vice chairman and MD, Emami said, “We had adopted the route of strategic investments in new-age startups very early to leverage online opportunities brought about by rapid digitalisation to incubate new engines of growth. The strategic investments also help us have footprints in emerging segments that align with the evolving consumer preference. Our first strategic investment in the brand ‘The Man Company’ way back in 2017 has been very fruitful, which became our subsidiary in 2022. We are delighted to have invested not only in ‘The Man Company’ because we could see huge potential within but also impressed and happy with the promoter’s vision and commitment to make it a formidable brand. With 100% acquisition of the Company, we will be taking the brand to its next level of growth.”

Agarwal further added, “We will continue to explore more such opportunities for strategic investment that have synergies with our existing line of businesses.”

Commenting on the development, Hitesh Dhingra, co-founder, Helios Lifestyle said, “As we started our journey, we felt a gradual shift in the requirement for men’s grooming with men becoming more conscious of their looks and overall feel. Seeing that potential not being tapped into, we seized the opportunity to start this brand. Subsequent to that, we partnered with Emami as a strategic investor in 2017. In a very short period of time, ‘The Man Company’ has emerged as one of the key players in men’s grooming segment in India. Having taken the brand to the next level over the last few years, we now expect it to be on its growth trajectory with Emami, who can further accelerate the same to make ‘The Man Company’ one of the leading brands in the segment.

We had a great journey with Emami who came onboard as a strategic partner and guided us; together we took the brand to a new level. We believe the brand has great potential and would love to see ‘The Man Company’ as a global brand under Emami,” added Bhisham Bhateja, co-founder, Helios Lifestyle.