Unilever Ventures

Unilever Ventures Research Overview Unilever Ventures (UV) is the global venture and growth capital arm of Unilever, one of the world's largest consumer goods companies. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in London with a presence in Mumbai, UV provides strategic capital and operational expertise to founders building the next generation of consumer brands, commerce technologies, and B2B/enterprise solutions. As of early 2026, Unilever Ventures has invested in 137 companies across its 24-year history, averaging approximately 7 new investments per year over the last decade. The portfolio includes 6 unicorns, 5 IPO exits, and 33 acquisitions, demonstrating a strong track record of identifying category-defining brands. Investment Thesis Unilever Ventures describes itself as backing "forward-thinking founders who are crafting brands for the modern consumer." Their mandate sits at the intersection of three pillars: Beauty & Wellness – Consumer brands in skincare, haircare, personal care, nutrition, supplements, longevity, and holistic wellness Commerce – Technology enabling next-generation retail, e-commerce, and consumer discovery B2B/Enterprise – Technology businesses serving consumer goods, retail, and adjacent industries Unilever Ventures leverages the strategic power of Unilever's global distribution, brand-building expertise, regulatory know-how, and consumer insights to add unique value beyond capital. Portfolio companies gain access to Unilever's retail relationships, marketing capabilities, and potential acquisition pathway. Stage Focus Unilever Ventures is active from seed through growth stages: Seed : 28 investments (avg round size $3M) Series A : 29 investments (avg round size $8.89M) — primary entry point Series B : 18 investments (avg round size $19.8M) Series C : 10 investments Series D+ : 3 investments They are most active at Seed and Series A, often seeking to be an early strategic investor alongside financial VCs. Check Size Based on available data, Unilever Ventures' typical check size ranges from $500K to $15M , consistent with their seed-through-Series A focus. They also make follow-on investments in later rounds for portfolio companies showing strong performance (e.g., multiple follow-ons in Perelel across seed, Series A, and Series B). Lead Tendency Unilever Ventures both leads and participates as a strategic co-investor. For beauty brands, they are known to lead early rounds (e.g., led Perelel's $6M Series A, led indē wild's $5M round). For larger or growth rounds, they typically co-invest alongside financial investors. Recent Activity (2024–2026) Unilever Ventures has been consistently active, deploying capital across beauty, wellness, and commerce sectors: 2026 (YTD): Mar 2026: RAS Luxury Oils (India, Series B, ~$3.5M) Jan 2026: SkinInspired (India, Series A, ~$9.4M) 2025 (7 investments): Dec 2025: Secret Alchemist (India, Seed, ~$4.5M) Nov 2025: Plant People (US, Series A, $1.5M) Oct 2025: Perelel (US, Series B — follow-on, $27M total round) 2025: Hung Vanngo (US beauty brand, launch investment) 2025: Alice Mushrooms (US, Series A, $8M round) 2025: indē wild (India/US, $5M round — lead investor) 2025: RAS Luxury Skincare (India, $5M — lead investor) 2024 (9-10 investments): Perelel (Series A lead), Luna Daily, ESQA, Oak Essentials, Indu, SkinInspired, Clayco Cosmetics, Arata, OneSkin 2023 (5 investments): Live Tinted, Straand, Thesis, What's Up Wellness, 7 Virtues Notable recent exit: Blis (acquired by T-Mobile, March 2025, $175M) Portfolio Highlights Unicorns: Cult.fit (India, fitness/wellness platform, $667M raised, Series F) Glance (India, AI shopping agent, $390M raised, Series D) DealShare (India, social commerce, Series E) Jellysmack (US, video content platform, Series C) Gousto (UK, meal kit delivery, Series F) Instacart (US, grocery delivery, IPO NASDAQ Sept 2023 at $8.3B) Notable exits: Instacart (NASDAQ IPO, Sept 2023) Nutrafol (acquired by Unilever) Blis (acquired by T-Mobile, $175M, Mar 2025) Curlsmith (acquired by Helen of Troy) Grown Alchemist (acquired by L'Occitane Group) Gallinée (acquired by Shiseido) Minimalist (acquired, Jan 2025) Wider portfolio highlights: True Botanicals, The INKEY List, Trinny London, Saie, Grove Collaborative, Seismic, FabFitFun, The Nue Co., BYBI, Frank Body, Kopari, Lemme, Volition Beauty Team Unilever Ventures has a team of 15, including 7 partners, split between London (primary) and Mumbai (India coverage). Leadership: Olivier Garel, Managing Partner – Leads the Investment Committee and manages relationships with corporate, VC, and private equity funds Stephen Willson, Managing Partner – Co-leads the firm alongside Olivier Pawan Chaturvedi, Partner – Asia – Leads India and Asian investments from Mumbai (board: Milkbasket, Plum) Rachel Harris, Partner – London-based; board member at Thesis Anna Ohlsson-Baskerville, Partner – London-based Mark Muth, Partner – London-based; board member at P2i Lane Andrew, Partner – London-based; previously led B2B/Technology direct investments Principals: Isabelle Hemington, Gunita Bhasin Kontsiotis (UK), Priyanka Thakkar (Mumbai), Devesh Papney (Mumbai) Geographic Focus Unilever Ventures invests globally with primary focus on: United States : 41 investments (largest single market) India : 21 investments (strong CVC synergy with Unilever's India operations) United Kingdom : 20 investments Selective : Australia, Indonesia, and other emerging markets Founder Preferences As a CVC arm of a consumer goods giant, Unilever Ventures is particularly well-suited to: Founders building consumer brands in beauty, wellness, personal care Commerce and e-commerce enablement businesses Companies looking for strategic distribution and brand-building support beyond capital Founders open to a potential Unilever acquisition path (as seen with Nutrafol) They are active on the BeautyMatter list for the fourth year running, signaling deep commitment to the beauty investment community. Decision Process Unilever Ventures operates with an Investment Committee led by Olivier Garel. Decisions involve the partnership team, with typical processes for strategic alignment across Unilever's business groups. Co-investors Frequent co-investors include Twenty Nine Capital Partners, Chiratae Ventures, Surge, Prelude Growth Partners, Manna Tree, and Spring Capital.