Lifelong Online Joins the Thrasio Global Family,as Thrasio Commits ₹3750 Crore to Acquire Brands in India
Thrasio Holdings, Inc. , the next-generation, global consumer goods company, and Lifelong Online, a leading Indian online consumer brand, announced Thrasio’s entrance into India and a ₹3750 crore commitment to acquire the region’s promising, digital-first brands in the country. Lifelong becomes a Thrasio company, leveraging Thrasio’s global expertise in acquiring and scaling brands with Lifelong’s proven success in building and growing consumer products in India.
India is one of the fastest-growing regions for Amazon’s third-party marketplace, making it enticing for aggregators. The enormous opportunity, combined with the success of leading acquirers, has fueled a rise in startups created in the “Thrasio model.”
With Lifelong leading the on-the-ground execution, Thrasio gains the strength of a knowledgeable, local company to run the Indian business. Backed by Thrasio’s extensive experience and the ₹3750 crore commitment to acquire Indian businesses, the company will quickly be a significant player in the seller ecosystem.
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“We couldn’t be more excited to work with Lifelong Online and, together, take our proven model to India,” said Carlos Cashman, CEO of Thrasio. “As we got to know Lifelong, it became clear that they are the ideal partner for what we want to accomplish. Their team of proven executives has already built an amazing business, and their understanding of the Indian consumer is unparalleled. Their expertise and local leadership will be invaluable as we make an enduring commitment to India. In addition to acquiring and growing digital-first businesses, we plan to participate in the ‘make in India’ movement by transitioning the manufacturing for some of our products to the country.”
Thrasio has acquired more than 200 brands and raised more than $3.4 billion (USD) in funding and will continue to deploy those funds around the globe to acquire businesses with promise. Their entrance brings the firm with the most aggregation experience to the Indian market, while Lifelong Online provides insight into Indian consumers and the local ecommerce ecosystem. Lifelong will now be known as “Lifelong, a Thrasio company” and will be well-positioned to engage with India’s more than 750,000 sellers.
“We are building a technology-first, next-generation consumer goods company,” explained Bharat Kalia, CEO of Lifelong Online. “Thrasio’s acquisition expertise and the strength of our platform across ecommerce, D2C, Amazon, and Flipkart are a perfect match. We are already in active discussions with a number of sellers, and we’re excited to help Indian entrepreneurs realize the full potential of their brands and products. With lucrative exit options for founders, we hope to encourage even more brands and sellers to join the D2C ecosystem in India!”
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“India is a unique market with hundreds of thousands of motivated entrepreneurs,” continued Cashman. “We are thrilled to provide brand owners with the opportunity to successfully sell their businesses as well as to give consumers greater access to quality products. This is a major step in our evolution and a huge opportunity for India’s sellers.”
Lifelong Online’s current investors Tanglin Venture Partners and the Hero Group will continue their support. Tanglin Venture Partners, an early-stage technology-focused venture capital firm, was the first institutional investor in Lifelong Online. Run by a team of ex-Tiger Global and ex-Flipkart leaders, Tanglin actively invests across sectors including SaaS, fintech, B2B commerce, consumer tech, health tech, and more and has a portfolio of more than 20 companies across India and SE Asia. Hero Enterprise Investment Office actively invests in innovation-led growth-stage companies in sectors including financial services, healthcare, omni-channel consumer businesses and new age technology ventures. The Investment Office currently manages a diversified portfolio of futuristic companies that are driven towards profitable and socially meaningful growth.