Aurea Group PE set to pump in $3-5 bn into beauty brands

The PE firm will remain focused on beauty and wellness, rather than diversifying into other sectors such as F&B

- Varuni Khosla

K-based Aurea group, which had rescued and invested in beauty brand The Body Shop in 2024, is in the process of deploying $3-5 billion into beauty brands including its current investment. The company's Indian-origin founder Mike Jatania, who is in India this week, said The Body Shop is grossing $1 billion in annual sales and is turning its focus on India as it's a top five global market for the beauty business.

Jatania-an Indian-origin Gujarati businessman-said, "India is very much at the top of our global growth strategy. We hope that in the coming years, India will move into the top three markets for us." He said the firm is launching a new product line in India and plans to export to the rest of the world soon. "We're excited about quick commerce here as that's delivered very good results for us," he added.

The PE firm also owns Herbivore Botanicals, a plant-based cosmetics company, Scandinavian Biolabs, a natural haircare product company, and Decypher, a company that produces and sells foundation makeup.