D2C (direct-to-consumer) beauty brand RENEE Cosmetics aims to double its business over the next 12 months. Priyank Shah, co- founder, tells S Shanthi that for FY26, the company is targeting a revenue of Rs 450–500 crore, in line with its internal projections, representing a year-on-year growth of 45–50%. Excerpts:
You had raised a Series C funding of $30 million in August this year. How have you been deploying the newly infused capital?
The funds will primarily be invested across our three core pillars, innovation, content-led marketing, and strengthening distribution, to accelerate both reach and relevance. These focus areas have been central to our growth. With this momentum, we aim to scale aggressively while continuing to deliver high-performing, science-backed products to a wider consumer base.
When do you plan to raise the next funding?
Currently, we don’t have a fixed timeline for the next fundraising round, as it depends entirely on our growth needs and the opportunities that arise. The company has a healthy runway, but if we see a chance to accelerate growth or make a strategic leap, we are open to raising capital.
What about the growth plans for the next 12 months?
Over the next 12 months, we are aiming to nearly double our business, with at least an 80% increase in scale. We see “face” as a high-potential category, with consumers demanding efficacy and quality, and we plan to invest heavily here to gain a larger share across both skincare and makeup. Overall, product-led and category-focused innovations will form the backbone of our growth strategy for the year ahead.
How many cities or countries do you plan to expand into in 2026?
In India, we are currently present in more than 70 cities, and we plan to expand this to 150 cities. When it comes to international expansion, we have begun pilot operations in the GCC and the USA. These are still at the pilot stage, but the groundwork has started in both regions.
Tell us about your offline presence and expansion.
We currently have 30,000 exclusive offline stores. We plan to open 75,000 by FY26/FY27.
What is the revenue you are targeting to close FY26 at?
For FY26, we are targeting revenue in the range of Rs 450–500 crore, in line with our internal projections. This represents a year-on-year growth of 45–50%, reflecting the strong momentum and scalability we’ve built over the past year. Our long-term objective is to double the yearly revenue run rate to Rs 1,000 crore in the next 18 months.
Do you have any targets in terms of user base?
In FY25, our user base has grown by 70–80%, driven by strong demand for our products and a consistent 30% repeat rate, which reflects high brand resonance and consumer loyalty. With strengthened marketing efforts and new campaigns, we continue to attract a significant volume of new users every quarter.
The startup ecosystem is seeing a shift in focus towards profitability, unit economics, and corporate governance. How has your approach to growth evolved in the last few years?
We aimed for hyper-growth in the initial two years, which required significant investments. That’s how we scaled from Rs 30 crore in the first year to Rs 450–500 crore this year. Those investments are now behind us. Today, the brand enjoys high recall, strong consumer resonance, and strong repeat rates. We are currently on the verge of profitability, and our goal is to break even in H2 of the current year. We expect to become profitable from the next financial year onward. All our strategic decisions going forward are being taken with profitability at the core.