Marico Limited, an Indian consumer goods company, has agreed to acquire a stake of 60% in Apcos Naturals Private Limited, the owner of the Just Herbs ayurvedic cosmetics and beauty brand.

The financial terms of the all-cash deal have not been disclosed.

Marico said that it will acquire a 52.4% stake in Apcos Naturals by 31 July 2021, thereby making the latter its subsidiary. The remaining 7.6% stake will be acquired by 31 March 2023, said Marico whose brands include Parachute, Saffola, Saffola ImmuniVeda, Saffola FITTIFY Gourmet, Saffola, Mealmaker, Saffola Arogyam, Hair & Care, Nihar Naturals, Mediker, Parachute Advansed, Revive, Coco Soul, Set Wet, Livon, and Beardo.

Just Herbs is a range of skin and hair care offerings that are said to be prepared from certified organic and wildcrafted ingredients procured from across India.

Arush Chopra – CEO and Co-founder of Apcos Naturals said: “We are delighted to have entered into a strategic partnership with Marico. The values, entrepreneurial spirit and agility that define Marico’s culture fits perfectly with our vision for the future.

“We believe that Marico’s evolved capabilities, processes and systems will complement our ambition to scale up online as well as offline. We are very positive about the future prospects of this partnership and look forward to a fruitful journey with the team.”

According to Marico, the investment in Just Herbs ayurvedic cosmetics and beauty brand aligns with its strategy to fast track its digital transformation journey by building scalable digital-first brands organically or inorganically.

Saugata Gupta – MD and CEO of Marico Limited, said, “Just Herbs presents an exciting and differentiated opportunity to have a meaningful play in Ayurveda-led beauty categories. The brand has built a healthy consumer franchise on the back of the quality and efficacy of its offerings.

“The digital presence it has built in a short span of time is impressive and we strongly believe in its potential to reach critical mass over the next couple of years. This investment is another step towards our aspiration to build a portfolio of at least three INR 100-crore plus digital brands within the next three years.”

  Apcos Naturals, Arush Chopra, digital transformation, India, Just Herbs, Marico Limited, Saugata Gupta