The startup will use the latest round of funding for offline expansion, R&D and brand building
Anurag Kedia and Gagandeep Makker, co-founders, Pilgrim. Image: Swapnil Sakhare for Forbes India
In March 2020, when Anurag Kedia and Gagandeep Makker were about to launch their products in the market, a nationwide lockdown was announced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Three-and-a-half years later, the direct-to-consumer (D2C) beauty and personal care brand witnessed an oversubscribed funding round. The duo from IIT-Bombay decided to launch Pilgrim in 2019 after noticing a common trend among their relatives—they were hoarding international brands after bringing them back to the country [from their overseas trips]. “So we decided to bring those international beauty ingredients to Indian consumers,” says 44-year-old Kedia. The Mumbai-headquartered company has raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, along with existing investors Fireside Ventures and Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office.