Personal care and grooming startup Bombay Shaving Company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shantanu Deshpande, in a social media post, predicted that the premium skincare brand, Minimalistwill ‘die’ or cease to exist in the next three to five years.
“I am willing to bet that the brand Minimalist will die (or cease to exist in any meaningful way) in the next 3-5 years,” said Deshpande in his recent LinkedIn post.
This view from Deshpande comes months after the premium skincare brand was sold to the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) in January 2025.
Why does Deshpande think ‘Minimalist’ will die?
Shantanu Deshpande said that the founders of the skincare brand are ‘gone’ and the firm was sold for nearly ₹3,000 crore in Janaury 2025. He even supported the founders and said that ‘it was the right thing to do’ and he would have done the same.
“The founders are gone. They sold for a whopping 3000 cr, made 2000 cr for themselves, 1000 cr for others, and have left. It was the right thing to do. I would have done the same,” said Deshpande in his post, highlighting that the CEO who sponsored the deal is now ‘gone’.
Deshpande emphasised the risk of alienating the brand further, as the new CEO will reportedly be using a combination of focus on the core and the innovation part.
“A new CEO is at the helm of a struggling giant. There will be a combination of ‘focus on our core’ + ‘innovate and build ourselves for the consumer’ that will further alienate an orphaned brand,” he claimed in his post.
Competitive Risk
In his post, Shantanu Deshpande said that the skincare brand is not “hard to copy” and highlighted that the industry competitors will ensure the premiumisation in the space.
“Competition is quick to swoop in. Not hard to copy a copycat, frankly. 🙂 Competition will ensure premiumisation – another strategic lever for new CEO – will be tough. I myself have seen 10 pitch decks in this space,” said Deshpande.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) will be key factors in the ‘impatience,’ which is likely to lead to the operations ceasing to exist in the potential future.
“There will soon be impatience around ROAS and eventually ROCE. And the plug will be pulled at some point, invariably,” he said. “A brand at 400-500 cr, profitable, well run – will likely become a zombie business (there but why no one knows) with the shareholders being 3,000 cr poorer.”
The Bombay Shaving Company CEO also emphasised that Minimalist is under 1% of the FMCG giant HUL’s market capitalisation. “So who even cares…” he said.
“I so so so badly hope I’m wrong,” said Shantanu Deshpande in his post.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd. announced on 22 January 2025 the acquisition of the online premium skincare brand Minimalist for ₹2,955 crore. According to Mint’s earlier report, the FMCG giant will acquire a 90.5% shareholding in the company.