Strong Q3 fuels Mamaearth’s push into men’s skincare

Bengaluru: Honasa Consumer Ltd, the parent company of personal care brands Mamaearth, Aqualogica and Dr Sheth’s, said on Thursday that it anticipates rising demand for products like sunscreen and moisturizers among male consumers in men’s skin care by acquiring D2C brand Reginald Men.

The firm announced on December 11 that it would acquire 95% of Reginald’s shares through a second share purchase. ₹195 crore. The transaction is now complete, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“Reginald Men is one of those brands that fits our men’s skincare hypothesis perfectly. It has performed very well over the last two years and is now the most searched sunscreen brand (according to Google AdWords data),” Honasa co-founder and CEO Varun Alagh said in its third-quarter earnings call.

Honasa nearly doubled its after-tax profits ₹50 crore in December quarter ₹26 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations increased by 16% ₹601 crore during the period ₹517 crore in the same quarter last year.

Total expenses increased marginally with ₹550 crore in 3QFY26 ₹507 crore a year ago due to a change in the direct distribution model affecting inventory.

“Our move to direct distribution has started to pay off strongly. The contribution of our direct distribution network has reached 80% (of revenue) and our inventory stocks are now optimized in about 30 days, which is healthy for a complex inventory system like ours,” Alagh told analysts.

But with most of the transition complete, Honasa expects spending to remain under control in the coming quarters.

Honasa had implemented a revamped distribution approach called Project Neev in the March quarter of FY24, shifting to a direct distribution model in the top 50 cities and reducing its reliance on super stockists.

The company said it will continue to expand its offline distribution network, reaching 270,000 retail outlets in India by December 2025, according to its investor presentation. It had a total of 200 active direct distributors as of the third quarter of FY26 and a presence in more than 9,000 modern commercial outlets at the end of the quarter.

Honasa will further focus on its core categories, including face washes, sunscreens and shampoos, while continuing to explore emerging categories such as youth cosmetics brand Staze and oral care brand Fang.

Annual recurring revenue from junior brands in Honasa’s portfolio, including Aqualogica, The Derma Co and Dr Sheth’s, rose 25% year-on-year in the quarter, with The Derma Co delivering what the company described as a “standout” performance. “Derma Co continues to deliver strong growth, achieving a double-digit Ebitda profile. It continues to drive innovation in categories such as shampoo and sunscreen,” Alagh said.