USV Pharma has acquired a significant stake in Wellbeing Nutrition. This move marks USV’s entry into the fast-growing direct-to-consumer wellness sector.Mumbai: USV Pharma Thursday announced the acquisition of a 79 per cent stake in Wellbeing Nutrition at ₹1,583 crore valuation, marking its entry into the rapidly growing D2C nutraceutical and consumer wellness market.
ET was the first to break news of the deal in its February 12 edition.
Popular for its anti-diabetes brand Glycomet GP and anti-hypertensive Ecosprin, Mumbai-based USV said the new portfolio of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands would expand its portfolio from prescription-led care to preventive and lifestyle-focused wellness.
The deal saw exits of Hindustan Unilever and venture capital firm Fireside Ventures with both early investors selling their 19.8 per cent stake each in Wellbeing Nutrition. Both would reap more than fourfold returns having invested in Wellbeing Nutrition about three years ago at a valuation of about ₹350 crore.
Founder and chief executive officer Avnish Chandra retained 51 per cent equity post the transaction while about 9.4 per cent stake was kept for employees. Explaining the rationale behind the stake sale, HUL managing director Priya Nair said, “We have chosen to divest so we can focus and double down on the brands we have.”
HUL plans to double down on its other health and wellbeing brand Oziva, which has already reached ₹500 crore in revenue.
“It’s done extremely well with social first demand generation, and that’s our focus,” she said. “We have also brought in Liquid IV from the Unilever stable into India. Unilever has a large footprint of brands, whether it’s Neutrophil or Ollie and it will look and consider the right time to enter India.”
In December 2022, HUL acquired 51 per cent stake in Oziva for ₹264 crore in the first tranche and said the balance 49 per cent will be acquired at the end of a three-year period based on pre-agreed valuation, which it did not specify. At the time, HUL also bought a 19.8 per cent equity stake in Wellbeing Nutrition for about ₹70 crore.
“We look forward to unlocking the next phase of growth by leveraging USV’s global capabilities while preserving Wellbeing Nutrition’s core mission of transparent, sustainable, and high-quality nutrition,” said Prashant Tewari, managing director, USV.
“The addition of Wellbeing Nutrition reinforces USV’s evolution into a comprehensive healthcare powerhouse spanning both therapeutic excellence and consumer wellbeing,” the company said.
Industry experts said USV’s decision is in line with the current trends. “Since building new D2C brands could be time-consuming and may still not succeed or show traction against established rivals, USV had to go with a readymade asset,” an industry veteran told ET, who added this portfolio may fetch more than 30 per cent margins.
While Wellbeing Nutrition is expected to open new growth opportunities beyond its strengths in diabetes and cardiac care, USV said it is now advancing the next phase of growth with plans to enter the innovative anti-obesity GLP-1 therapy upon loss of patent exclusivity of semaglutide expected next month. The brand name for the upcoming product will be ‘usema’, it said.
Wellbeing Nutrition recorded 120 per cent growth in the last two years and is poised to cross ₹450 crore in revenue by FY27, according to the company. Data from retail prescriptions audit agency PharmaTrac showed USV’s sales at ₹4,899 crore over the last 12 months.
Wellbeing Nutrition has a spectrum of consumer health and nutrition products spanning whey protein, magnesium, collagen, and Omega-3 fish oil. The domestic market for nutritional products stood at ₹21,374 crore till January on a moving annual turnover (MAT) basis, as per PharmaTrac data. In recent years, most big drug makers have diversified into consumer healthcare brands with consumer preferences.
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