Indian consumer products company Marico Limited has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Marico South-East Asia Corporation (MSEA), has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 75% equity stake in Vietnam’s Skinetiq Joint Stock Company, based on an equity valuation of $38.6 million.
Co-founded in 2020 by Bui Ngoc Anh and Hannah Nguyen, Skinetiq is a Vietnamese direct-to-consumer (D2C) company that owns the skincare brand Candid. Skinetiq also holds exclusive distribution rights in Vietnam for the globally renowned luxury clinical skincare brand, Murad.
The company has scaled to $17 million in revenues in CY2025 with a sustainable mid-twenties EBITDA margin profile.
Candid offers clinically proven active ingredient-based skincare products catering to the mid-premium market. The business garners a large majority of its revenues from online channels and has grown rapidly through social commerce, dermatology-led content, and a strong community of young, digitally savvy consumers.
“The investment in Skinetiq reflects our commitment to building a strong premium beauty play in Vietnam and advancing our D2C strategy internationally. Vietnam remains a priority market for us, driven by its strong macroeconomic fundamentals and rapidly evolving beauty landscape…This partnership positions us to invest ahead of the curve in Vietnam’s fast-growing e‑commerce and D2C space, while creating a strong platform to introduce more brands in the years ahead,” said Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO, Marico Limited.
Marico is one of India’s leading consumer products companies operating in global beauty and wellness categories. During FY 2024-25, Marico recorded a turnover of Rs 10.8 billion ($1.3 billion) through its products sold in India and select emerging markets in Asia and Africa.
Most recently, the company announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire 60% stake in Cosmix Wellness Private Limited, which owns Cosmix, one of India’s leading digital-first functional wellness brands, at an equity valuation of Rs 375 crore.
Vietnam’s beauty industry is going through an important stage in 2025, led by a young and fashion-conscious population and the fast growth of online shopping, according to a Japanese company specializing in market research, B&Company. The market is expected to reach about $2.74 billion this year and keep growing at around 3.3% per year until 2029.
In 2023, Chinese retail giant Alibaba, through its unit Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (AIDC), agreed to buy a minority interest in Vietnam-based cosmetics and beauty chain Hasaki. Hasaki is backed by Hong Kong-headquartered private equity firm Excelsior Capital Asia’s Vietnam fund.
