India’s men’s grooming market was barely a ₹3,200 Cr industry in 2016. Today, it has crossed ₹10,000 Cr—and Beardo played a key role in making that happen.

Beardo saw what others didn’t.

Men were beginning to take grooming seriously.

Beards were a fashion statement, and yet, there were no dedicated products for them.

So, Beardo went all in. They created a full-stack beard care routine—beard oils, washes, balms, waxes — and made bearded men their tribe.

They weren’t selling beard oils. They were selling #HairyMasculinity—an unapologetic, rugged, stylish identity.

And the results? A cult-like following.

Optimising & Streamlining Backend Operations For Hypergrowth

When Beardo launched, their biggest challenge wasn’t demand—it was fulfillment.

Problem #1: No real-time stock visibility. Orders were flowing in, but they had no way to track inventory efficiently.

Problem #2: A single warehouse. Delivering nationwide with one hub meant high shipping costs, order delays, and customer drop-offs.

Problem #3: High order cancellations. Limited warehousing and inefficient logistics meant delayed deliveries, increasing cancellations and customer dissatisfaction.

So, they streamline their backend operations.

✅ Multiple Warehouses → Orders routed from regional warehouses for faster fulfillment
✅ Real-Time Stock Visibility → No more stockouts, no more manual tracking headaches
✅ Optimized Shipping → Automated carrier selection based on location & order type, reducing shipping costs by 34%

💰 Impact? 150% growth in order volumes.

This operational efficiency paved the way for a massive liquidity event.

Marico’s Big Bet on Beardo

Marico first acquired a 45% stake in Beardo in 2017. They saw the potential.

By 2020, Beardo was profitable. Marico wasted no time and acquired the remaining 55%, making Beardo a 100% Marico-owned brand.

Estimated exit for the founders? ₹150-180 Cr.

Returns for early investors? 7X-10X their investment.

A textbook example of scaling profitably before cashing out.

How Beardo Became India’s OG Men’s Grooming Brand

1️⃣ Celebrities & Influencers—Beardo Built a Tribe

Beardo didn’t just pick brand ambassadors. They picked icons.

🔥 Hrithik Roshan. KL Rahul. Yash. Suniel Shetty. Bhuvan Bam.

Every face of Beardo represented different versions of masculinity—rugged, stylish, sporty, and charismatic.

The campaign #HairyMasculinity wasn’t just about beard oil. It was a statement that led to:

▶️ Instantly relatable for urban men

▶️ Became a symbol of style & self-expression

▶️ Amplified reach across digital and TV audiences

2️⃣ Owning Social Media Like No Other

Beardo dominated Instagram & YouTube.

Their pages weren’t flooded with ads. Instead, they built engagement-driven content—memes, trends, UGC, and influencer collabs.

💡 Key Tactic? They made having a beard aspirational.

Their #Movember campaigns, quarantine beard challenges, and music videos were viral hits.

📈 Engagement rates? 2X the industry average.

3️⃣ The D2C + Marketplace Balance

Unlike many D2C brands that struggle with pureplay online sales, Beardo cracked a multi-channel approach.

📍 40% of sales from their own website (high margins)
📍 60% from Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart, Myntra, and modern retail stores (mass reach)

D2C Founders, Take Note

Beardo mastered niche positioning, influencer marketing, and operational scaling.They built an aspirational brand, sold it at a massive valuation, and still continue to dominate.

But, they reported a net loss of ₹6.1 Cr in FY23.

Why?

1️⃣ ₹41.3 Cr spent on marketing (35% of total expenditure)
2️⃣ Scaling operations, new product lines, international growth
3️⃣ ₹12.6 Cr spent on workforce expansion

With Marico’s distribution and offline retail muscle, profitability will soon bounce back.