New Delhi, June 24 -- Honasa Consumer Ltd, the parent of Mamaearth and The Derma Co., has agreed to acquire a bootstrapped nutraceuticals maker whose revenue growth slowed and profit margins narrowed over the past few years.

Mumbai-listed Honasa said in a stock-exchange filing it will acquire a majority stake in Fluence Pharma Pvt Ltd as part of efforts to tap into growing demand for nutrition supplements in the country.

The beauty and personal care company will first acquire 58% of Fluence Pharma, which offers skin and hair nutrition supplements and has a dermatologist-led distribution network. It will buy the remaining 42% stake in Fluence in two tranches over the next five to seven years. Honasa will also incorporate a wholly owned subsidiary, Honasa Health Pvt Ltd, to undertake the consumer operations of the nutraceuticals business.

Financial metrics

Honasa said it will buy 58% via a secondary deal at an enterprise value of Rs 135 crore ($14.2 million). The deal values Fluence at around 3.4 times its FY26 revenue of Rs 40 crore and 15 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) operating profit, Honasa said. It also said the EBITDA margin for FY26 was over 20%. This indicates an EBITDA of over Rs 8 crore.

Fluence has grown at a compound annual rate of nearly 19% between FY2021 and FY25, according to VCCircle calculations. However, in the last two fiscal years through March 2026, the company's topline has grown in the range of around 3-7%.

This implies a sharp slowdown since it recorded a jump of almost 80% in FY22, when demand for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products jumped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company's EBITDA has followed a similar trend. Its EBITDA more than doubled in FY22 but growth slowed sharply in the next three years. In FY26, its EBITDA likely fell from the year before.

The EBITDA margin, too, climbed sharply in FY22 but remained stagnant thereafter before recording a fall in FY25 and again in FY26.

Deal rationale

Founded by Amit Bhusari and Rajendra Singh Rajput, Fluence Pharma offers condition- and gender-specific, over-the-counter (OTC) supplement doses for complex hair and skin conditions using its proprietary Cyclical Nutritional Therapy where two supplements are consumed per day in three-day cycles. The company offers its products via a network of more than 3,000 practicing dermatologists.

"Fluence has built a strong scientific foundation through its patented Cyclical Nutritional Therapy, setting a benchmark for clinically validated efficacy," said Varun Alagh, co-founder and CEO, Honasa Consumer. "We are excited to build on this foundation and scale it through Honasa Health, creating a consumer-first nutraceuticals franchise that complements our science-led beauty portfolio," Alagh said.

Honasa Health will be led by Dheeraj Nagpal. Nagpal was the co-founder of the nutraceuticals brand Zingavita, where he led brand strategy, marketing, and product innovation. He previously held leadership positions at Zomato and American Express, bringing deep experience in building and scaling new-age consumer businesses.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.