indē wild has landed US$5m investment from Unilever Ventures after achieving 400% growth in India and landing an exclusive partnership deal with Sephora.
The Indian skin care and hair care brand’s funding round was led by FMCG giant Unilever’s investment arm, along with existing investors SoGal Ventures and True Reinvesting.
indē wild was founded in 2021 by influencer Diipa Büller-Khosla, who has 2.3 million Instagram followers, and her husband Oleg.
It promotes its own-brand concept of ‘Ayurvedistry’ – a blend of Ayurveda and modern chemistry.
The capital will be used to accelerate indē wild's international reach, fuelling its existing partnership with Sephora UK, which it launched into in late 2024, and its upcoming debut into Sephora US in 2026.
Rachel Harris, Partner at Unilever Ventures, who led the deal, said: “By blending the age-old wisdom of Ayurveda with the efficacy of modern science, indē wild is meeting the holistic needs of today’s beauty consumer in an accessible and comprehensible way.
“With its highly engaged communities across the globe, indē wild is redefining what it means to be an Ayurveda-inspired brand in today’s world.
“Unilever Ventures is delighted to be partnering with Diipa and Oleg on this next stage of the company’s growth.”
indē wild founders Diipa and Oleg Büller-Khosla
The investment comes after “quick growth” for indē wild in India, as well as significant traction in the US and UK markets.
Within just 18 months of its launch with India’s premier beauty e-commerce platform Nykaa in 2022, as well as the debut of its direct-to-consumer website in the US and UK, indē wild has sold more than one unit per minute.
Hero product, Champi Hair Oil, holds the number-one bestseller position on Nykaa, outperforming established giants Olaplex, L'Oréal and Kama Ayurveda.
Last year, indē wild also signed an exclusive partnership deal with Sephora and was named one of eight brands in the retailer’s Accelerate programme, which aims to build a community of ‘inspirational’ brand founders in beauty.
“Unilever Ventures investment in indē wild and this partnership is the result of the immense respect and trust we developed in Rachel Harris and the whole UV [Unilever Ventures] team,” commented Oleg.
“Their expertise and experience in the beauty space is second-to-none.
“And with their deep understanding of consumer needs, innovative approach to ‘clean’ beauty and knowledge of what constitutes top level business practices will allow indē wild to scale even faster in this rapidly evolving market."