Social media influencers don entrepreneurial hat; launch VC-backed consumer brands

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SynopsisThe rise of social media influencers has given birth to a new wave of consumer brands, garnering tremendous venture capital interest.

ETtechThe large follower base of these creators could be a great marketing platform for their brands, investors said.Bengaluru: Social media creators across beauty, fashion, food and supplements are increasingly turning their influence and expertise into consumer brands, attracting venture capital funding for their startups in a move that echoes the rise of celebrity-backed businesses.

Beauty and skincare content creator Himi Khandelwal, also known as The Skintellectual Girl with 208,000 followers on Instagram, has raised about Rs 8 crore at a pre-money valuation of Rs 22 crore for her skincare brand Pruf, led by DSG Consumer, with participation from All In Capital, and angels like Reckitt’s Arjun Purkayastha, Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Shaadi.com’s Anupam Mittal, and Deconstruct founder Malini Adapureddy, people aware of the development said.

Similarly, chef Sanjyot Keer, who has been running his channel Your Food Lab on YouTube for the past decade and has over 7 million followers, raised Rs 40 crore for his home appliance brand Curaa, led by 3one4 Capital earlier this week.

Over the past year, Instagram influencer and creator Kusha Kapila’s shapewear brand Underneat has raised almost $7 million from Fireside Ventures and Alteria Capital while vlogger and former pilot Gaurav Taneja’s supplement brand Beastlife is talks to raise Rs 80 crore funding, sources told ET. It raised Rs 20 crore from GVFL and Equentis at a Rs 320 million valuation in April this year.

“We are starting with concerns faced by Indian skin, beginning with hyperpigmentation,” Khandelwal, cofounder and CEO of PRUF, told ET. “A significant part of this capital is going into the parts consumers rarely see: formulation, repeated testing, clinical validation and R&D.”

Queries sent to Beastlife’s cofounder Raj Vikram Gupta remained unanswered till press time on Saturday.

Followers and moreThe large follower base of these creators could be a great marketing platform for their brands, investors said.

“For Underneat, going the influencer route was correct because the category needs a lot of education,” said Vinay Singh, founding partner at Fireside Ventures. “For any category that is niche or emerging, combining a great product with direct community access through the creator is an excellent strategy to build the category while also managing costs.”

In most cases, creators have gone and built a product in categories that they have been developing content for. Take Your Food Lab’s (YFL’s) Keer. After showcasing food recipes, tips and tricks, he started his brand Curaa for cooking appliances because he saw an opportunity in the segment.

Keer’s role at Curaa goes beyond marketing. He also looks after research and development (R&D) of the products along with his team. “My experience of working in professional kitchens for two decades, and interaction with millions of people on social media who are a part of the YFL community, helps me understand what the user needs,” he said.

Hero productHealth influencer Revant Himatsingka, also known as FoodPharmer, started his journey to make Indian consumers aware about the products they are consuming. After he gained popularity in 2023 for his videos decoding the ingredient lists of products, he launched his clean-label protein brand Only What’s Needed (OWN) in 2025.

“Protein had the maximum mistrust associated with it. FoodPharmer stands for trust and I thought we could make protein mainstream in India by launching our own brand,” Himatsingka said. “About 40% of our users are first-time users. People are buying protein for their parents for the first time; some of these users are over 60 years old.”

While the community (of followers) can drive the initial hype, a brand will only pick up if the product is good, said analysts who track the direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment.

“We are seeing many celebrities and creators launching their own D2C brands as VC funds and formulators or manufacturers can be accessed right here in India,” said Renu Bisht, founder of Gurugram-based market intelligence firm Commercify 360.

The trend is not limited to social media creators. Bollywood actresses and celebrities such as Shraddha Kapoor (Palmonas), Kriti Sanon (Hyphen) and Samantha Prabhu (Secret Alchemist) have cofounded or backed consumer brands, which have gained popularity and attracted VC funding.

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