Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) said it will acquire the remaining 49% stake in Zywie Ventures Private Limited, which sells OZiva for Rs 824 crore and sold its 19.8% minority stake in Wellbeing brand maker Nutritionalab Private Limited to USV Private Limited for Rs 307 crore.
In December 2022, HUL acquired 51% equity stake in Oziva for Rs 264 crore in the first tranche and said the balance 49% will be acquired at the end of three year period based on pre-agreed valuation, which it did not specify. During the same time, HUL also bought a 19.8% equity stake in Wellbeing Nutrition for about Rs 70 crore.
ET was the first to report on HUL and Fireside Ventures divesting its stake in Wellbeing to USV Private Ltd in its 12th Feb edition.
“By taking full ownership of OZiva, we are doubling down on this exciting space to unlock the next phase of growth. Our decisions today reflect our intent of fewer, bigger bets where we can leverage HUL’s strengths in science, distribution and market development to scale purpose-led brands,” Priya Nair, CEO and Managing Director of HUL, said.
HUL said since entering the health and wellness category in 2023, it has focused on building a strong presence in this nascent yet fast-growing consumer space. OZiva has delivered strong performance following HUL’s majority investment of 51% — scaling to approximately Rs 480 crore in 2025 with a growth of 130% CAGR in last two years by developing a winning portfolio and unlocking significant synergies through HUL’s ecosystem, it said.
HUL on Thursday said total sales rose 4% to Rs 15614 crore during the December quarter while net profit fell 15% to Rs 2,590 crore. “During the quarter, demand trends reflected early signs of recovery, underpinned by supportive policy measures,” Nair added.
The company said it is aiming for a simpler organisation under the ‘Unified India’ strategy where business unit (BU) heads to directly report to HUL CEO to foster speed and enhance agility within the organisation, each BU to have a chief marketing officer (CMO) reporting into the BU Head, to reinforce consumer obsession and accelerate innovation. In addition, Unilever will establish a one India R&D organisation to double-down on design and deployment and these changes will enable acceleration in decision making and faster execution, unlocking full potential for a future-fit business.
