Hindustan Unilever invests in Oziva and Wellbeing Nutrition

Hindustan Unilever has forayed into the ‘health and wellbeing’ category through investments in Zywie Ventures (Oziva) and Nutritionalab (Wellbeing Nutrition).

 

According to HUL, the 'health and wellbeing' category in India is worth Rs 30,000 crores. Oziva was launched in 2016 and is a plant-based consumer wellness brand which operates in lifestyle protein, hair and beauty supplements and women’s health. HUL will acquire 51% equity stake through a combination of primary infusion and secondary buyouts. The balance 49% will be acquired at the end of 36 months based on pre-agreed valuation criteria. The current Oziva team led by Aarti Gill and Mihir Gadani will continue to operate all functions of the business. HUL will have representation on the board. 

 

Wellbeing Nutrition was founded in 2019. Its product range includes melts (oral thin strips), slow (slow-release capsules) and marine collagen powder focused on spaces such as beauty, everyday health, gut health and sleep. HUL will acquire 19.8% equity stake in the company. The current team led by Avnish Chhabria will continue to operate all functions of the business with HUL represented on the board.

 

These transactions are expected to be completed in the next three months, subject to customary closing conditions.

 

Sanjiv Mehta, CEO and managing director, HUL, said, “We are delighted to welcome Oziva and Wellbeing Nutrition to the HUL family and our portfolio of purpose-led brands. These strategic investments give us an entry into the fast-growing health and wellbeing category. They align strongly with our mission to improve the health and wellbeing of consumers and empower people to take charge of their health through solutions that they can trust. I strongly believe that HUL is well-positioned to support further scale-up of these businesses through our R&D, market development, distribution capabilities and Unilever’s global health and wellbeing expertise.”

 

Ritesh Tiwari, CFO, HUL, said, “HUL has a successful track record of building categories through market development. We are excited to work with the founders of OZiva and Wellbeing Nutrition to grow the businesses further by leveraging our complementary expertise and capabilities.”

 

Gill and Gadani said, “We are glad to partner with HUL to achieve our vision of empowering people to live better and healthier with Oziva. Over the last few years, we have created an innovative portfolio that has helped millions of consumers live a better life. As the next step in this journey, with Oziva's focus on innovation in the space of health and wellbeing and HUL's strong capabilities in category development and distribution, we believe we can together create a stronger purpose led brand that brings us closer to our vision and touch more lives around the world.”

 

Chhabria said, “We are very excited to welcome Hindustan Unilever as a strategic investor. Wellbeing Nutrition has been on a mission to make clean nutrition accessible to consumers all over the world on the back of innovative products, such as Melts (Oral Thin Strips) and Slow (2-in-1 capsule technology) formulated using high-quality and globally-sourced natural ingredients. We believe this partnership will help scale Wellbeing Nutrition by leveraging HUL’s reach and capabilities and become a lifestyle wellness brand of choice.”