Nobel Hygiene has raised Rs 132 crore from its current investor Sixth Sense Ventures, a domestic consumer-focused startup fund. The money will help Nobel Hygiene achieve its goal of dominating the market for absorption hygiene products.
According to a statement, Nobel Hygiene has now, cumulatively, become Sixth Sense’s largest investment in the FMCG sector.
“Now that our factory expansion in Gujarat is complete, we are poised to manufacture more, better, and faster to meet increasing demands across the country. This, alongside the investment, will help us progress towards our goals in the coming years; making up for the COVID slump the industry experienced in the last few years. I trust this association will be highly beneficial for all the stakeholders of Nobel Hygiene,” Kamal Johari, MD and CEO, Nobel Hygiene, says.
The largest healthcare-focused private equity firm in Asia, Quadria Capital, led an investment round in June 2021 that netted Nobel Hygiene between Rs. 450 and Rs. 500 crore. Sixth Sense Ventures also purchased shares from other angel investors during this round, while PE investors CLSA Capital Partners, Access India fund, and co-investors sold their holdings.
With its brand “Friends,” Nobel Hygiene established the adult diaper sector in India in 2000. Founder Kamal Johari.
Through its brands Teddyy, RIO Pads, and Snuggy (a brand it purchased from Godrej in 2018), Nobel Hygiene has also been at the forefront of the introduction of absorbent products in the baby diaper industry and the sanitary pad category, respectively.
Nobel Hygiene is the 4th largest player in Indian baby diaper segment
Nobel Hygiene said it has leveraged its distribution network of Friends and product know-how to become the fourth largest player in the Indian baby diaper segment.
With diapers requiring a fairly complex manufacturing process, Nobel claims to have built a robust back-end. The company has two manufacturing units in Nashik, Maharashtra and Halol, Gujarat. As per the company, technical understanding and focus on continuous innovation has enabled Nobel to grow at a 23 percent CAGR in the last three years. The firm is on track to hit Rs 1000 crore in revenue at the close of this financial year.
Nobel Hygiene and Sixth Sense Ventures were represented, in the closing of this infusion, by legal partners Khaitan & Co and ICUL, respectively.
