Shantanu Deshpande, founder and CEO of Bombay Shaving Firm, has sparked controversy on LinkedIn by predicting that Minimalist, the skincare model not too long ago acquired by Hindustan Unilever (HUL), “won’t survive or stay related in its present type within the subsequent 3–5 years.”
Minimalist, one in every of India’s main direct-to-consumer skincare manufacturers, was purchased by HUL in April for ₹2,706 crore. The acquisition gave HUL a 90.5% stake in Rebellion Science, the model’s guardian firm. However Deshpande believes the sale might mark the start of the tip for the as soon as founder-led enterprise.
“They offered for a whopping ₹3,000 crore, made ₹2,000 crore for themselves, ₹1,000 crore for others, and have left. It was the fitting factor to do. I might have carried out the identical,” Deshpande wrote. However he warned that with the founders and the unique deal-sponsoring CEO now gone, “a brand new CEO is on the helm of a struggling big.”
Deshpande’s submit questioned whether or not founder-driven momentum can survive inside a legacy FMCG construction. “The acquisition integration is hard, the class is aggressive, and the large gamers are circling,” he famous.
The submit drew sharp reactions. Some LinkedIn customers defended Minimalist’s progress story and valuation, suggesting that HUL’s scale and capital might assist the model thrive. Others echoed Deshpande’s skepticism, pointing to previous examples of startup acquisitions petering out beneath company possession.
Including to the uncertainty is HUL’s current management shakeup. CEO Rohit Jawa, who took over in June 2023, abruptly stepped down earlier this month—one of many shortest CEO tenures in HUL historical past. Priya Nair, presently world president of Unilever’s magnificence & wellbeing division, will step in from August 1 as HUL’s first feminine CEO.
Minimalist is a part of a broader D2C acquisition push by HUL, which additionally contains Oziva and Wellbeing Diet. However Deshpande’s warning highlights the dangers that include scaling area of interest digital manufacturers beneath a mass-market framework.
