Minimalist Acquired by HUL: ₹2,955 Crore Deal with 90.5% Stake

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), India’s FMCG giant, has moved significantly by acquiring a 90.5% stake in Jaipur-based premium skincare brand Minimalist. The company was valued at ₹ 2,955 crore, and HUL will purchase the balance stake of 9.5% within two years. The current Minimalist team led by Mohit and Rahul Yadav will continue to operate the business in collaboration with HUL. 

The transaction is expected to be completed in Q1 of FY 2026. HUL will directly make an additional investment of ₹45 crores in Uprising Science Private Limited, which operates the Minimalist brand. The main aim of this move is to strengthen the company’s position in the market and foster long-term success. 

History of Minimalist 

Founded in 2020 by Rahul and Mohit Yadav, Minimalist has rapidly grown, offering transparent skincare, hair, and body products. It was last valued at $75–80 million during the previous funding round. Minimalist is a research-based, consumer-focused hair and skin-care brand that provides top-notch, science-backed solutions that deliver impactful and transparent approaches. The brand sold through its online platform and e-commerce platforms. Since its inception, the business has rapidly scaled to cross an Annual Revenue Runrate (ARR) of Rs. 500 crore in a short span of 4 years. 

Why Yadav Brothers Sold Minimalist?

The Yadav brothers, Mohit Yadav and Rahul Yadav, founders of Minimalist, reportedly sold their company to Hindustan Unilever chiefly to use HUL’s extensive distribution network and reach a broader audience across India. This allowed them to substantially expand their “transparent and science-backed” skincare brand while maintaining their focus on product quality and customer trust. Ultimately, they saw a strategic opportunity to expand Minimalist’s market reach explosively through a partnership with an established FMCG giant company, HUL. 

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Why Corporate Giants are Investing in D2C Brands

More prominent companies buying such D2C brands gain access to consumer niches far from their reach. At the same time, it becomes difficult for many successful Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands to grow beyond a point or become profitable.

These new brands offer unique value, are highly personalised and provide big companies with unique digital footprints due to their niche buyer segments, one-to-one interaction with customers and higher-return products. A D2C brand gets more visibility, a financial uplift, better R&D support and more experienced management of a more prominent company. 

Hindustan Unilever’s acquisition of Minimalist highlights the company’s focus on premium, high-margin segments, aligning with parent company Unilever’s global strategy of dominating low-penetration categories. HUL has a beauty and personal care (BPC) division that contributes nearly a fifth of the company’s revenue and about a third of its profits. The company is restructuring this division to sharpen its focus on premium offerings.

The deal between Minimalist and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) gives HUL control of 90.5% of Minimalist for ₹ 2,955 crore. This is an example of the growing potential of Indian start-ups and the increasing popularity of D2C brands that serve directly to consumers through online platforms.