GlobalBees acquires femtech startup andMe

India's largest Thrasio-style investment venture, GlobalBees on Monday said it has acquired Bengaluru-based women health startup andMe for an undisclosed amount.

In July this year, GlobalBees had announced raising $150 million (about Rs 1,123 crore) in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners as well as FirstCry and some of its investors.

At that time, the company had said it would create a 'house of brands' across categories like beauty, personal care, home, kitchen, food, nutrition, sports and lifestyle.

Thrasio is a digital consumer goods company that acquires third-party private label Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) businesses and direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands.

Recently, GlobalBees had announced the acquisition of home care products company The Better Home.

"Within a month of acquiring The Better Home, GlobalBees - an aggregator of digital brands - has announced its second acquisition, andMe - a women's first, research-led company serving unique needs of women across menstrual health, hormonal health, beauty and fitness," a statement said.

This marks the foray of Globalbees into the femtech sector that was valued at over $22.5 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.2 per cent from 2021 to 2027.

The founders and the over 15-member team of andMe will become a part of GlobalBees and continue to strengthen its product portfolio and focus on reaching broader women communities both in India and globally, it said.

Nitin Agarwal, CEO of GlobalBees, said women's health has largely been an unexplored market.

"...but andMe has been able to bring discussions around women's health in the forefront, raising awareness about differentiated nutritional needs of women not only in this country but across the world...We also want to accelerate the company's product development pipeline to create an entirely new category that focuses on the nutrition needs of women across the world,” he added.

andMe, launched in 2017, offers plant-based, preservative and chemical-free products. Around 70 per cent of the company's sales come from outside the top five cities, including small towns in eastern India.

GlobalBees is looking to associate with 30 to 35 brands from various D2C (direct to customer) categories, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), sports, home organisation, and lifestyle, among others, the statement said.

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