FMCG companies reap rewards from digital-first brand acquisitions as online bets drive growth

Mumbai: The bet's paying off for India's big consumer goods companies that have acquired digital-first brands, with some of them becoming fastest-growing divisions of their parents in terms of sales. They generated more than ₹2,000 crore in combined revenue in FY26, up over 20% from a year earlier, according to an ET analysis. These include brands such as Minimalist, Oziva, Beardo, Yoga Bar, Mother Sparsh, Plix, True Elements, Cosmix and 4700BC.

Marico's acquired portfolio accounted for more than 11% of FY26 revenue, while Hindustan Unilever's Minimalist and Oziva contributed around 1.6% of revenue. Godrej Consumer's men's care brand Muuchstac currently constitutes 0.2% of its total revenue. "We're happy with the growth of these brands because we are profitable. Beardo has already hit double-digit profitability and Plix is expecting it soon," Marico MD and chief executive Saugata Gupta told ET recently. "We would prefer profitable growth over cash-burning expansion."

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Marico Most Aggressive Buyer
Marico has been the most aggressive buyer of such brands. After acquiring full ownership of Beardo and Just Herbs in 2021, it added True Elements and Plix in 2022 before buying Cosmix and 4700BC. Its digital portfolio crossed an annual revenue run rate of ₹1,500 crore in FY26, up from ₹1,000 crore a year earlier.

The gains follow a wave of acquisitions over the past few years as legacy consumer companies sought faster entry into high-growth segments such as premium beauty, wellness, nutrition and healthy foods instead of building brands from scratch.

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For instance, HUL-owned Minimalist, acquired in January 2025, has already reached an annual revenue run rate of about ₹850 crore, with managing director and chief executive Priya Nair calling it one of the company's strongest performers. HUL has invested nearly ₹3,500 crore in bolt-on acquisitions, including Minimalist and Oziva, while committing another ₹2,000 crore to expand premium manufacturing capacity, underscoring its strategy of building new growth engines beyond its legacy brands.

Profitability remains a mixed bag though. Minimalist, Beardo and Plix have turned to profit, while Oziva has sharply reduced losses. True Elements, Cosmix, Yoga Bar and 4700BC continue to report losses. Babycare brand Mother Sparsh slipped into the red in FY26 despite strong revenue growth.

Founders say the next phase of growth will come from leveraging the distribution strength of their parent companies.

"We haven't seen any meaningful slowdown in spending when it comes to products directly linked to a baby's health, safety and well-being," said Himanshu Gandhi, cofounder and chief executive of Mother Sparsh. He expects the company to deliver "30-40% profitable growth" this year, helped by ITC's distribution network to expand across general trade, modern retail and underserved markets. The acquisition spree is however slowing as most large consumer companies have plugged key gaps in their portfolios.

HUL has described its acquisition strategy as "fewer, bigger, better," focusing on bolt-on deals rather than transformational acquisitions. Gupta said Marico's "chessboard strategy" is largely complete, with the company now looking only at tuck-in acquisitions to address remaining portfolio gaps.