Chasing The Scent Of India’s Next D2C Breakout

Many Indian beauty and personal care brands are already weaving fragrance into their core value proposition across skincare and body care. Between 2018 and 2025, at least 30 fragrance brands entered the ecosystem, according to Inc42 research

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For a moment, forget fintech meltdowns and edtech reinventions. Ignore quick-commerce platforms racing to deliver dal-rice in 10 minutes and athleisure brands fighting for gym-mirror selfies.

Instead, picture this: cricketer Suryakumar Yadav slipping into the iconic Kachra Seth avatar from the movie ‘Phir Hera Pheri’ for a campaign with House of EM5, a D2C fragrance brand known for solid perfumes, affordable sprays and premium blends. The Instagram reel quickly went viral, clocking 24.5 Mn views and about 1.5 Mn likes.

The timing wasn’t random. Weeks earlier, Yadav had invested in the brand. Last year, EM5 also raised ₹1 Cr from Aman Gupta on Shark Tank India Season 4. 

EM5 isn’t alone. Since 2025, a clutch of pure-play fragrance startups has started drawing consumer VC attention. Fraganote raised $1 Mn to push affordable luxury perfumes with backing from Rukam Capital. Secret Alchemist, positioning itself around “clean perfumes” blending fragrance with wellness and aromatherapy, has raised $3 Mn from Unilever Ventures.

Investors such as V3 Ventures and DSG Consumer Partners are preparing to enter the space, while Fireside Ventures calls fragrance its “fastest-growing BPC sub-segment.”

Sauce.vc partner Yash Dholakia says the moment resembles the early days of premium skincare: the category was small, but adoption accelerated quickly. Many of the brands getting funded today could evolve into........

© Inc42