Innovist Founders, Investors to Pocket Over ₹2,500 Cr in L'Oreal Deal

L'Oreal's acquisition of Innovist for ₹4,000-4,100 crore has become one of the largest wealth creation events for early backers of a consumer startup in India, according to a Moneycontrol report. The deal surpasses Hindustan Unilever's acquisition of Minimalist in size.

Innovist was founded in 2019 by Rohit Chawla, Vimal Bhola and Sifat Khurana. Chawla had earlier founded The Man Company and sold it to Emami in a ₹400 crore deal.

Founders to Gain over ₹1,700 Crore

According to the report, Chawla has agreed to sell around 15 to 17% of his stake in Innovist and will retain about 20 to 23%. Bhola is selling around 0.5% and will retain 1%, while Khurana is selling around 2% and will retain 2%.

Together, the three founders stand to make ₹1,700-1,800 crore from the deal, the report said. They will receive immediate payouts of about ₹700-800 crore, with the remaining ₹1,000-1,100 crore to follow over three to four years, once L'Oréal completes a full acquisition of the company.

Early Investors See Strong Returns

Several early investors are also set to gain significantly from the deal. Sauce VC, a consumer-focused venture capital fund, invested a total of ₹55-60 crore in Innovist between 2019 and 2025 across multiple rounds. Its total payout now stands at ₹590 crore, translating to a tenfold return, the report said.

72 Ventures LLP, the family office of Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar and her husband Sanjay Nayar, former head of KKR India, invested around ₹10-11 crore starting in 2021. It will walk away with ₹140-150 crore, also a tenfold return, according to the report.

Amazon first invested in Innovist in 2023, putting in a total of ₹15-20 crore. Its stake is now worth ₹190 crore, the report said.

ICICI Venture, which invested ₹80 crore through its early-stage arm in April 2025, will receive a payout of ₹300 crore, an outcome of more than three times its investment within a year, the report further said.

The report named several other investors set to benefit from the deal, including Accel, Niveshaay, OTP Ventures, the family office of Infosys co-founder K Dinesh, Mirabilis Investment Trust and angel investors including Kunal Shah, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CRED.

The report noted that as consumer giants increasingly turn to acquisitions instead of building brands in-house, digital-first startups are becoming attractive targets for strategic buyers.