In 2012, buying beauty products in India meant one of three things:
limited choice, poor advice, or fake products.
That gap is what led three IIT engineers—Manish Taneja , Rahul Dash , and Suyash Katyayani —to start what would eventually become Purplle .
Back then, beauty was not seen as a serious e-commerce category.
It was fragmented, offline-heavy, and dominated by a few global brands.
Consumers outside metros had almost no access to authentic products or guidance.
The founders saw the real problem clearly:
India didn’t lack demand for beauty—it lacked discovery, trust, and access.
Purplle (originally Manash Lifestyle Pvt Ltd) started small.
Customer education was slow.
Logistics for fragile beauty products were complex.
Trust was hard to earn in a category full of counterfeits.
There were rejections — from brands, from investors, and from consumers who were hesitant to buy beauty online. But instead of chasing scale too early, the company focused on content, community, and credibility .
The first customers came through deep discounts, detailed product information, and beauty advice that felt personal—not transactional.
Purplle didn’t stop at being a marketplace.
Over time, it built a dual business model :
A third-party marketplace for wide selection
A growing portfolio of private labels for better margins and control
Its owned brands today include Faces Canada, Good Vibes, Alps Goodness, Carmesi, and DermDoc — brands built specifically for Indian skin types, price points, and preferences.
This shift turned Purplle from a seller into a brand builder .
Fast forward to FY25.
Purplle has doubled its operating revenue to ₹1,367 crore , a major milestone in Indian beauty e-commerce.
The platform now:
Serves 10+ million monthly active users
Has nearly 20,000 offline touchpoints across India
Operates at a national scale across metros, Tier I, and Tier II cities
While valuation and total funding figures haven’t been disclosed in this update, Purplle is widely recognised as one of India’s most valuable beauty startups, backed by global investors and competing directly with the largest players in the category.
India’s beauty and personal care market is expected to grow at double-digit rates over the next decade, driven by:
Rising disposable incomes
Growing digital adoption
Increasing participation from Tier II & III cities
A shift toward ingredient-aware and purpose-led brands
Beauty in India is no longer niche.
It’s mainstream, aspirational, and deeply local.
Purplle’s journey offers some powerful lessons:
• Big categories often look “unattractive” at the start
• Trust beats speed in consumer businesses
• Private labels can unlock profitability at scale
• Distribution + education is a killer combination in Bharat
Purplle didn’t chase trends.
It built patiently, listened closely, and scaled when the market was ready.
From a startup few believed in to a ₹1,367 Cr revenue company this is what long-term execution looks like in India.
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