HUL to invest in OZiva and Wellbeing Nutrition

Through strategic investments in Zywie Ventures Private Limited (“OZiva”) and Nutritionalab Private Limited (“Wellbeing Nutrition”), Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) today announced its entry into the “Health & Wellbeing” category. The potential market size for “Health & Wellbeing” in India is Rs 30,0001 crore.

OZiva is a plant-based, clean-label consumer wellness company that focuses on niche markets like women’s health, supplements for hair and beauty, and lifestyle protein. A robust internal R&D team led by PhDs, phytochemists, and biotechnologists works for the company.

Through a combination of primary infusion and secondary buyouts, HUL will obtain a 51% equity share. At the conclusion of 36 months, the remaining 49% will be acquired based on previously agreed-upon valuation standards. Aarti Gill and Mihir Gadani’s present OZiva team will continue to run the company’s various operations. The Board will include a representative from HUL.

OZiva

Science-based, benefit-driven clean products are the focus of Wellbeing Nutrition’s Health & Wellbeing division. Through a combination of primary infusion and secondary buyouts, HUL will obtain 19.8% of the company’s equity. All business operations will continue to be handled by the current Wellbeing Nutrition team, which is currently led by Avnish Chhabria. On the Board, HUL will be represented.

Sanjiv Mehta, CEO and Managing Director of HUL, stated that the company is pleased to welcome OZiva and Wellbeing Nutrition to the HUL family as they strongly align with HUL’s mission to enhance consumers’ health and wellbeing and enable people to take control of their health through solutions they can rely on. He asserted that HUL is “strongly positioned to support further scale-up of these businesses through our R&D, Market Development, Distribution capabilities and Unilever’s global Health & Wellbeing expertise.”

OZiva’s founders, Aarti Gill and Mihir Gadani, asserted that the combination of OZiva’s emphasis on health and wellbeing-related innovation and HUL’s strong capabilities in category development and distribution will result in a more powerful purpose-led brand that will touch more people’s lives globally.

According to Avnish Chhabria, the founder and CEO of Wellbeing Nutrition, the company has been working to make clean nutrition available to consumers all over the world through the development of cutting-edge products like Melts (Oral Thin Strips) and Slow (2-in-1 capsule technology), which are made with premium, naturally sourced ingredients from around the world. “We think this partnership will enable Wellbeing Nutrition to grow by leveraging HUL’s capabilities and reach and become a preferred lifestyle wellness brand.”

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