The fund house is committed to support mid-level consumer business, mostly operating in sectors like agrochemicals, building materials, financial services, and healthcare. Before the fund house announces the closing of its round three, Sachin Bhartiya, Partner, Lighthouse Funds, shares with Entrepreneur his star investments from previous two rounds.
DHANUKA AGRITECH
WHAT IT DOES: SELLS BRANDED PESTICIDES
When we invested in Dhanuka Agritech, it was a Rs.300 crore listed company, much smaller compared to where it stands today. We bought close to 10 percent of its stake in 2010. Seven years down the line, today, this company has close to its 1,000 crore turnovers and about Rs.150 crore profit (before tax). The company was selling branded pesticides but without proper branding or marketing. So, we helped them get Amitabh Bachchan as a brand ambassador and their whole story changed.After getting Bachchan on board,its sales tripled, profit margines improved and the corporate image went up. Year of Investments: September, 2010 (Follow on investments as well) Size: $8 million
STYLAM INDUSTRIES
WHAT IT DOES: SELLS HIGH QUALITY LAMINATES
(SACHIN BHARTIYA, Partner, Lighthouse Funds)
The company, based out of Chandigarh, is one of the largest laminate manufactures and sells high quality laminates. With its newly added state-of-the-art capacity, the company is strongly positioned to cater to the global market, where laminates of larger dimensions are in demand. Even India is a highly eavorable market for Stylam today, Increasing urban population and rising per capita income are loading to a growing need for housing/real estate which is expected to accelerate the company’s domestic growth. Year of Investment: May 2017 (follow on investments as well) Amount: $8 million
KAMA AYURVEDA
WHAT IT DOES: SELLS LUXURY-AYURVEDIC PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
Today, Indian consumers are looking for luxury personal care products and the segment is dominated by international brands. When we discovered Kama, it was a two-store brand with Rs.10-12 crore turnovers. We realized the products are great but it was a small set up. So, we met the promoters and the company’s management to convince them to take some money from us and grow. Today, the business has grown almost at 70 percent CAGR is the last five years and from two stores to 30 stores. Amount: $ 11 million Year of Investment: March, 2014 (Follow on investments as well)
(As published in on Thu, February 1 2018. )