Marico Pursues Digital Wellness Brands
Consumer products company Marico is continuing its "string of pearls" M&A strategy, with a focus on acquiring digital-first wellness brands. The approach underscores the growing importance of direct-to-consumer channels and localized innovation in the global beauty and wellness sector. No major acquisition has been announced in the past week.
- Marico's "string of pearls" strategy centers on acquiring smaller, high-potential, founder-led brands to fill portfolio gaps, rather than pursuing large, expensive buyouts. This approach is designed to build a portfolio of scalable, profitable niche brands. - In February 2026, Marico announced three acquisitions as part of this strategy: a 60% stake in digital-first plant-based nutrition brand Cosmix Wellness, a 75% stake in Vietnamese D2C skincare company Skinetiq, and a 93.27% stake in gourmet snacking brand 4700BC. - The acquisition of Cosmix Wellness, a profitable, bootstrapped company, was valued at approximately $41.5 million. Cosmix offers plant-based protein powders and superfood blends and has reached an annualized revenue run rate of about ₹100 crore. - The acquisition of Skinetiq for about Rs 350 crore strengthens Marico's international D2C platform. Skinetiq owns the skincare brand Candid and holds exclusive distribution rights for the clinical skincare brand Murad in Vietnam, a market where online and social channels drive nearly 50% of beauty consumption. - [Marico's digital-first](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEFPONCJxWqmjMNxUFcpo4VwJVlPQ6zIt6lpJPJyNMQziyXmLR2sumLESp7ZYA_Io7-FN98SFz1Qh-CwrRB6d5WQICoh1JGtLLnlv5Zd7zm4NKFyVPb61whtpJelbVd8-tQSJ2ltFXRM9BTPJ56Z4Uiw_aZZBLVYtggWx8VnAnTnHPvWRQkHBMyqPpC_xec8cTAa34x0h3cA3BWDMY59uCueJ5FpD3Wqd8bKor1pCRsjTKq5L3ajWe1sxLAoeO3H2yKcz-D6nflk8jC39Wh) portfolio already includes men's grooming brand Beardo, Ayurvedic brand Just Herbs, healthy breakfast brand True Elements, and plant-based products brand Plix. Beardo has surpassed an annual recurring revenue of Rs 100 crore. - Saugata Gupta, Marico's Managing Director and CEO, explained the philosophy to analysts, stating, "Our digital business philosophy is think big, start small, scale up fast or drop fast. It is a string of pearls strategy. I don't believe in buying something big and paying 6x for that.” - The company aims for its digital brands in India and international markets to contribute 20% of its total revenue by the 2030 fiscal year. Marico's digital-first portfolio is expected to exit the 2026 fiscal year with an annual recurring revenue of over ₹1,000 crores.
