RENÉE Cosmetics, an emerging beauty brand, experienced a significant boost in revenue during FY24, doubling its sales to approach the Rs 200 crore milestone. However, the surge in revenue came at a steep cost, with the company reporting an 88% increase in losses due to extensive promotional spending.
According to RENÉE’s consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies, the company’s revenue from operations grew substantially to Rs 191.65 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 97.15 crore the previous fiscal year. Founded by Aashka Goradia Goble alongside Beardo co-founders Priyank Shah and Ashutosh Valani, RENÉE offers a wide range of beauty products, including eye makeup, lip colors, skin serums, and highlighters. In addition to selling through third-party e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms, the brand had over 650 shop-in-shop outlets across India by June 2024.
The company also recorded Rs 8.5 crore in interest and financial asset gains, bringing its total revenue for FY24 to Rs 200 crore.
On the expense side, advertising and promotional activities accounted for the largest share of costs, making up 38.8% of the overall expenditure. These costs surged by 70.6% to Rs 102.51 crore, up from Rs 60.1 crore in FY23. Additionally, the cost of materials and employee benefits more than doubled, reaching Rs 52.44 crore and Rs 31.67 crore, respectively. The latter figure also includes Rs 1.37 crore in Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) expenses for the year.
Total company expenditure rose by 81.6% to Rs 264 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 145.38 crore in the previous fiscal year. As a result of the increased cash burn, RENÉE Cosmetics’ losses also widened by 88.2%, rising to Rs 61.45 crore in FY24 from Rs 32.66 crore in FY23.
The company’s operating cash outflows also saw a 17.2% increase, reaching Rs 75 crore during the period. RENÉE’s EBITDA margin and return on capital employed (ROCE) stood at -28.22% and -42.38%, respectively. On a unit level, the company spent Rs 1.38 to generate every rupee of operating revenue.
To date, RENÉE Cosmetics has raised approximately $46 million from investors, including Evolvence India, Edelweiss Group, Equanimity Ventures, and 100Unicorns. In its latest fundraising effort, the company secured Rs 100 crore in an extended Series B round in June 2024.