GCPL's Sitapati case for Muuchstac: profit first, micro-influencers strategy

New Delhi: Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) MD & CEO Sudhir Sitapati on Thursday praised Muuchstac Face Wash and set out a clear rationale for buying the D2C brand, which GCPL officially acquired on Monday for Rs 450 crore. 

In a LinkedIn post, he argued that the brand’s economics, about Rs 80 crore trailing revenue with roughly Rs 30 crore EBITDA-justify the price because the business has scaled without burn and with disciplined marketing.

Sitapati said Muuchstac’s founders, Vishal Lohia and Ronak Bagadia, put in Rs 3 lakh in 2017-18 and did not lose money in any year. After a few indifferent years, the team pivoted in 2023 when Muuchstac Face Wash began to show strong traction. 

The product now contributes around 90% of revenue. The go-to-market is frugal: no TV advertising, no performance marketing, no post-promotion; only a network of micro-influencers and organic content.

According to Sitapati, Muuchstac Face Wash ranks No. 2 in men’s face washes online, and is likely No. 3 overall when offline is included. He framed this as evidence of product–market fit and repeat use in a daily category where discoverability and reviews drive velocity. GCPL, he indicated, can now widen its reach through general trade and modern retail while protecting margins.

Sitapati disclosed the headline consideration, Rs 450 crore, and said the deal delivered a greater than 15,000× return to the founders. 

“If so much could be achieved without any resources, one can only imagine what they’ll be able to do with the resources now available,” he wrote, adding that Vishal and Ronak will continue to run the business with GCPL support.

BestMediaInfo reported on November 3 that GCPL had entered into an agreement to acquire the FMCG business of Triology Solutions (TSPL), which owns Muuchstac, via a slump sale on a going-concern basis. 

The company guided a Rs 380-500 crore range, payable in cash, with Rs 289 crore upfront and a second tranche of about Rs 160 crore after 12 months. 

The filing noted no related-party angle and no regulatory approvals required, and was signed by Company Secretary Tejal Jariwala. 

TSPL’s audited turnover was Rs 19 crore in FY23, Rs 12 crore in FY24, and Rs 87 crore in FY25, with a TTM turnover of about Rs 80 crore as of September 2025.

The strategic logic is straightforward. GCPL adds a profitable engine in men’s grooming where the hero SKU already carries the brand. Scale can come from distribution depth, pack-price architecture, and a tight set of adjacencies that reuse the same promise and sensorials. 

The risk of over-extension is real for a one-SKU winner, but the method that built Muuchstac – focus, frugality, and organic influence – is the method GCPL signals it will preserve.

For founders and bankers, Sitapati’s post also reads like a sourcing brief. GCPL is seeking capital-efficient, EBITDA-positive D2C brands with clear product-market fit. 

He closed with an open call for referrals of “new-age D2C businesses with numbers as good as this one,” reinforcing that the company’s acquisition filter prioritises unit economics over vanity scale.

With Muuchstac now in-house, the test will be scale without sprawl and growth without burn, the same principles that took a Bhayander startup to a Rs 450-crore outcome.