Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, the venture capital arm of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, has backed consumer healthcare brand Onelife, which sells health and nutrition products, it said on Monday. The development highlights growing interest from legacy consumer firms in stepping up investments in brands and categories beyond traditional businesses.
In early February, Tata Consumer Products Ltd said it had acquired a 100% stake in Kottaram Agro Foods Pvt. Ltd, which manufactures the Soulfull brand of breakfast cereals and millet-based snacks. Last month, consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser led a ₹45 crore round in Visage Lines Personal Care Pvt. Ltd, which owns grooming brand Bombay Shaving Co.
Set up in 2019 with a corpus of ₹200 crore, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures focuses on immunity-building, hygiene and grooming products. It had earlier invested in LetsShave and Ustraa. The investment size has typically been $2-6 million.
Wipro said Onelife will use the funds for its next leg of growth. However, it did not divulge details of the investment. Onelife sells products in the wellness, immunity and overall nutraceutical segment, such as health supplements and vitamins.
The development also indicates the fresh investment appetite of legacy companies and their willingness to participate in the evolving consumer trends, following the increase in adoption of such products after the coronavirus outbreak as consumers sought to focus on building immunity. Sales of multi-vitamins were also significantly up.
“Health and immunity are on top of every consumer’s mind today. They are getting conscious of the benefits of preventive health,” said Sumit Keshan, managing partner, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures.
More recently, ITC Ltd, L’oreal, and Premji Invest had also participated in early-stage venture capital firm Fireside Ventures’ ₹863 crore second fund. Its earlier fund was backed by the Mariwala Family Office, Unilever Ventures, Emami Ltd, and the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Family Office.
