HUL buys Minimalist, ₹Wingify's 1600 Cr. acquisition, Zostel's ₹200 Cr. playbook💡

Big moves in the Indian startup ecosystem this week.

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Jan 24, 2025

We are back with our newsletter edition, which covers three important business topics in one go. Today, we discuss Hindustan Unilever’s “all-cash” purchase of Minimalist for ~₹3000 Cr., Wingify getting bought for ₹1600 Cr., and Zostel’s ₹200 Cr. hostel playbook.

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HUL’s ~₹3000 Cr. bet on Minimalist💰

First, some context.
Minimalist, the 5-year-old DTC brand known for its active ingredients and often dubbed as India’s answer to The Ordinary (Canadian beauty brand), is being acquired in an all-cash deal for ₹2,995 Cr. The founders—Mohit & Rahul Yadav—held about 61% stake at the time of this deal. The remaining 9.5% will be acquired from them within two years.

What’s in for HUL?
HUL’s playbook is simple: acquire brands that have trust → scale them massively with existing distribution horsepower → add a hot brand in a growing category to it’s portfolio mix. HUL knows the market opportunity: India is the world’s fastest growing beauty and personal care market, with it being valued at ~₹24,000 crore right now. Also, there has been a big shift in the basket of products being purchased by consumers in the last 5 years. HUL wants to have a piece of this growing “high margin” market by getting one of the most trustworthy brands on its side.

Fact.
Minimalist has a 60% repeat rate and took a bold, high-capex call of making all its products in-house—unlike most DTC brands that rely on third-party manufacturers.

Have we seen this before?
We have seen a consolidation in DTC consumer brands before – be it the acquisition of Yoga Bar by ITC, Max Protein acquisition by Zydus Wellness or, Caratlane by the Tatas. It’s a familiar pattern: once DTC brands build strong trust and a great product, they often become prime targets for FMCG giants looking to expand their portfolios and take care of the “1 to 10” journey. This makes sense for the brands too, as cracking the ₹1000 Cr. journey requires a different distribution muscle (on both modern and general trade).

What will we see more of?
We’ll see more DTC brands emerging, with founders betting on niche problems that remain unsolved. Minimalist is a prime example of a brand that created its own category in India—doing what no one else had done before. So, the brands that bet on overlooked categories with the right products will have a massive edge. Such successful brands will always have big consumer giants or private equity players coming after them. Btw, we wrote this in-depth piece on Minimalist sometime back.

Everstone buys Wingify for ₹1600 Cr.💸

First, some context.
Wingify, founded by Paras Chopra and Sparsh Gupta in 2010, is a SaaS (software-as-a-service) that helps businesses improve their website and app experiences. Their flagship product is called VWO (Visual Website Optimizer). With clients like Microsoft and Walt Disney, the bootstrapped startup pulls in ₹288 Cr. in sales and ₹61 Cr. in profits. Now, Singapore-based PE firm Everstone is acquiring a majority stake for around ₹1,600 Cr.

What’s up with the Indian SaaS space?
The Indian SaaS ecosystem has been growing and is expected to be ₹40,000 Cr. big by 2030. With this growth, we’re likely to see a wave of consolidation—whether it’s acquisitions by PE players or big strategic giants like Salesforce and Microsoft. We’ve seen it before—Bengaluru-based Ekta Software Solutions was snapped up in a PE deal back in 2022. As the market matures and more Indian SaaS companies crack the right PMF (product-market fit), we can expect many more such moves in the coming years

What it means for the ecosystem?
This being one of the biggest SaaS deals in India highlights the strong tailwinds for global SaaS businesses emerging from the country. Wingify generates 90% of its revenue from the US and Europe. More importantly, this acts as a solid example that bootstrapped success stories are more possible.
Fact.
There’s also significant wealth creation happening for Paras, who owned roughly 70% of the company before the acquisition. Plus, it’s great to see how the entire Indian startup ecosystem is cheering for the founders of both Minimalist and Wingify.

Zostel’s ₹200 Cr. hostel empire 🏕️

First, some context.
Zostel, a decade-old brand, pioneered the backpacking culture in India—way before it became mainstream. With ~₹200 Cr. in revenue and 110+ locations, Zostel has built a brand that’s now synonymous with the experience of budget travel and backpacking across the country. Let’s dive into what they cracked.
The “experience” insight.
Zostel was built for solo travelers and backpackers—people who care more about experiences and connections they make with fellow travellers than big, expensive rooms. Inspired by Europe’s backpacking culture, they designed common spaces to spark interactions and create a community vibe. Early on, they even ditched traditional hospitality hires and brought in non-conformists who truly understood their users. The idea was simple → build a space that feels like home for explorers who genuinely take pride in traveling like this.

Fact.
Roughly 50% of Zostel’s users are solo female travellers. Showcases the trust that Zostel has cracked among its users.
The Asset Light approach.
Zostel has taken a smart, asset-light approach—owning just one location on its own balance sheet. Instead of heavy investments, they run an entrepreneurship development program that empowers individuals to set up Zostels in their hometowns. Here’s how it works → users invest the capex, while Zostel handles branding, design, and operational guidance. In return, Zostel earns a flat 30% of overall revenue and 15% from food and beverages.
Community creation with “engagement”.
In the early days, Zostel focused on offering a range of value-added services for travelers. Their insight was simple—build loyal communities by driving user engagement. At a time when few in the market were thinking beyond just accommodation, Zostel stood out by creating experiences that kept travelers coming back.

Btw, we hosted Chetan (the co-founder of Zostel) on the GrowthX Inner Circle Podcast.

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