We’re thrilled to partner with Deconstruct, a brand redefining skincare with effective yet gentle formulations.

Founded by Malini Adapureddy in March 2021, Deconstruct was born out of a mission to simplify skincare for consumers. One of the biggest pain points for customers using efficacy-driven brands is the side effects caused by harsh, strong ingredients—often deterring them from exploring such products. Deconstruct addresses this challenge by offering beginner-friendly skincare that combines efficacy with gentleness.

By prioritizing transparency, science-backed formulations, and clear product benefits, Deconstruct has become a trusted name among both skincare beginners and enthusiasts. What began as an Instagram page to engage and educate a community quickly evolved into a full-fledged brand, launching six serums as its first product range in 2021.

Today, Deconstruct offers an extensive range of skincare solutions, including face serums, sunscreen, scalp serums, and other allied products. Their products are available across their D2C website, popular online marketplaces, and Quick Commerce platforms.

Under Malini’s leadership, Deconstruct has scaled with a strong focus on fundamentals, achieving remarkable ~7x capital efficiency. The company had an incredible year in 2024 where the brand grew 10x from January to December and achieved profitability. It's rare to see such remarkable growth paired with profitability—a true testament to sustainable success. Malini’s approach perfectly embodies DSGCP's brick-by-brick philosophy for scaling brands.

We’re excited to co-invest alongside BOLD Ventures, the venture fund of L’Oréal, and V Cube Ventures to support Deconstruct in their journey to become India’s No.1 highly effective yet gentle skincare brand.

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Why We’re Excited About Evidence-backed Skincare
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Large Market Opportunity Driven by Evolving Consumer Needs

The Indian Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) market is poised for rapid expansion, projected to reach USD 28.3 billion by 2027, accounting for ~5% of the global BPC market. Online penetration in this sector is expected to rise to 28% by 2027, with 150 million online shoppers.

The new age consumer is looking beyond incumbent brands like Glow & Lovely, Lakme, Ponds, Parachute.

The first generation of insurgent BPC brands (2016-2020) focused on natural and clean-label ingredients. However, the next generation of insurgent BPC brands (2021-Current) is built on science-backed, targeted, and problem-solving brands:

• Insurgent BPC brands founded between 2016-2020 focused on clean-label, vegan, and natural positioning strategies. This cohort included brands like Mamaearth, mCaffeine, Moms Co, Arata, and Wow Skin.
• However, the next generation of insurgent brands like Minimalist, Deconstruct, and Derma Co are focused on science-backed products. These brands are efficacy-led.
• Moreover, the newer generation of insurgent brands plays in new and more specialized categories like suncare, serums, hair care, and body cleansers. These brands have the potential to reach critical scale in just the online channel (D2C, E-commerce, and Quick Commerce)

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Early Adoption of Skincare Among Younger Consumers

Gen Z consumers are being introduced to beauty and personal care (BPC) products at an early age, between 8–13 years old, compared to millennials who typically began engaging with skincare at 16–20 years old. This younger cohort demonstrates a strong inclination to invest in problem-solving, relatable, and digital-first, content-driven brands.

Interestingly, young consumers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are emerging as key growth drivers, rapidly catching up with their metro counterparts in beauty consumption. Social media and digital platforms have been pivotal in bridging this gap, enabling aspirational access to both global and local brands, and opening new opportunities for brands to expand their reach.

While the average Indian consumer’s skincare routine historically revolved around essentials like cleansers and moisturizers, younger consumers are now incorporating advanced products into their routines, including Suncare and Serums.

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Suncare

Gen Z is driving the adoption of sunscreens for their anti-ageing benefits. Despite being under-penetrated, suncare adoption is growing rapidly. Approximately 65% of Indians still do not use sun protection, and 25% lack awareness of SPF and its importance.

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Serums

Introduced in 2020 by insurgent brands like Minimalist, serums have quickly become integral to younger consumers' routines. Key ingredients like Salicylic Acid, Niacinamide, and Vitamin C address concerns such as acne, hyperpigmentation, and dullness.

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The suncare and serum categories contribute to ~2% of the Indian BPC market. However, these segments are rapidly growing at 3x-4x YoY!

Why is the Suncare Category Growing?

Skinification of Sunscreen

‍Sunscreen is evolving from outdoor protection to an everyday skincare essential, becoming the third critical step after cleansers and moisturizers. As the sun protection category expands, ensuring affordability will be critical to driving daily adoption. This is because it continues to be viewed as an additional product versus daily-use products like cleansers or moisturizers. The sun protection category is particularly promising at price points < INR 500, where consumer adoption remains low. Existing users are shifting towards premium options, while functional sunscreens (addressing concerns like no white cast and no breakouts) are largely absent in the market.

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Now, Men Use Sunscreen Too 😊

‍Men aged 18-28 are increasingly entering skincare through moisturizers and sunscreen, showing strong loyalty to brands offering inclusive or unisex products.

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Why is the Serums Category Growing?

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The serums market in India is rapidly evolving, with face serums leading in innovation and hair serums capturing significant consumer interest, reflecting a broader shift toward targeted and effective skincare and haircare solutions.

There is a shift to targeted solutions, with greater consumer preference for specific use-case products over generic ones. Additionally, there is a rising ingredient-specific demand, as shown by a significant increase in search trends for ingredient-specific serums such as Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid, and Vitamin C.

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The science-backed skincare category has seen successful brands being built with a digital-first approach across markets.

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The Ordinary

Known for its affordable pricing in the US market, with all products retailing under USD 10, the brand gained popularity among celebrities, including Kim Kardashian. The top-selling product is the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% serum, priced at USD 5.90.

Part of DICEM, a group of six brands including the prestige beauty brand NIOD, The Ordinary was acquired by Estée Lauder for USD 1.3 billion on a revenue base of USD 400 million. Estée Lauder initially acquired a 29% stake and later increased it to 76%, referring to The Ordinary as "bite-sized luxury." The Ordinary entered the Indian market in 2022 and quickly became a cult favorite in India. Globally, The Ordinary sees an average order value (AOV) of 5-6 items at USD 50-70, with 40-45% repeat users within 12 months. While the brand dominates the serums category, it is also well-known for its peeling solutions and moisturizers.

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Neutrogena

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With over 90 years of experience, Neutrogena, a science-backed brand under the J&J (Kenvue) umbrella, was founded in Los Angeles and began its journey with a hypoallergenic amber soap named Neutrogena. The success of this soap led to the company's name change in 1962 from its original name, Natone, to Neutrogena. The brand's hero product is the Hydro Boost Moisturizer, while its reputation extends to the Ultra Sheer sunscreen and water-based sunscreen formulas.

At a global scale, Neutrogena generates USD 4 billion in annual revenue with an 11% corporate EBITDA, though sunscreen contributes only 12-15% of their US revenue. In India, sunscreen is a key product, generating INR 208 million in revenue in 2022, accounting for 1% of J&J India's total revenues.

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Minimalist

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Inspired by The Ordinary, Minimalist, was founded in 2020. It is a digital-first Indian personal care brand focused on ingredient transparency, operating under the tagline HideNothing. The brand has scaled to INR 4,000 million in revenues with approximately 12% EBITDA and operates with a capital efficiency ratio of ~4x. It offers products across six categories: face serums, hair serums, sunscreens, cleansers, moisturizers, and baby personal care. Hero products include Salicylic Acid, Alpha Arbutin, Vitamin C serums, and the Oat Cleanser. Minimalist pioneered the face serum category in India with its 2021 launch and currently has the largest share of voice in this category. The brand has expanded into the offline channel in India and is also present in international markets, primarily focused on Southeast Asia, with a strong emphasis on Malaysia and Indonesia.

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Why We Love Deconstruct

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Sharp Positioning: Highly Effective, Yet Gentle

Most beauty and personal care brands prioritize efficacy and product performance, often overlooking the needs of consumers with sensitive skin. Cetaphil, the leading brand for sensitive skin, identifies the five key signs of skin sensitivity: dryness, irritation, roughness, tightness, and a weakened skin barrier. However, most brands fail to address all these aspects comprehensively.

This creates a clear white space for a brand that delivers high efficacy while remaining gentle on the skin. Indian consumers often identify with acne-prone, breakout-prone, and oily skin types, while a significant segment also struggles with dry, sensitive skin. For this audience, gentleness is just as critical as effectiveness in choosing skincare products.

Deconstruct is uniquely positioned to fill this gap by creating a brand world that consumers can trust and associate with for the long term. Unlike trend-driven brands with single hero products, Deconstruct’s approach ensures it is not a fad but a reliable solution for evolving skincare needs—focusing on efficacy without compromising skin health.

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Ability to Create an Inclusive, Gender-Neutral Brand

Deconstruct has successfully built an inclusive, gender-neutral skincare brand, with its audience comprising 65-70% female consumers and a notable 35-40% male consumer base (Source: Google Analytics data, Marketplaces). Unlike most skincare brands, which have a gender ratio of approximately 90% female and 10% male, Deconstruct stands out by attracting a higher proportion of male shoppers.

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Consumer Obsessed Founder with Fundamentals Focused Growth

Malini, the founder of Deconstruct, started the brand with a clear mission: to simplify skincare through transparent labels, science-backed ingredients, and easy-to-understand product benefits. Her extensive experience across Flipkart, P&G (India, Vietnam), and Kraft Heinz has equipped her with a rare, well-rounded skillset, combining a strong focus on product formulation with deep expertise in brand marketing and consumer insights.

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The brand has achieved phenomenal traction within just three years of launch, at ~7x capital efficiency. The brand has achieved this scale with only 30 SKUs avoiding unnecessary SKU proliferation.

We are truly privileged to partner with Malini, alongside a stellar group of co-investors, as she builds India’s most loved highly effective yet gentle skincare brand!

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