Chennai-based skincare brand CHOSEN, based by dermatologist Renita Rajan, has raised an undisclosed quantity in an prolonged Sequence A funding spherical from Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor, the founders of nutraceutical model Wellbeing Diet.

The startup mentioned the funding can be used to strengthen its R&D and increase its formulation pipeline throughout topical skincare and nutraceuticals, with a deal with scientific validation and dermatological analysis.

It additionally plans to arrange a Centre of Excellence that brings dermatologists into product growth and analysis, and to develop its R&D, model and progress groups.

The extension follows a $5 million Series A round in Might, led by Fireplace Ventures. BOLD, the company enterprise capital fund of L’Oréal, and Alkemi Development Capital additionally took half.

Earlier than that, CHOSEN raised $1.2 million in an angel spherical in 2024. It has additionally obtained a $100,000 equity-free grant from Peak XV Partners by means of its SPARK programme for girls entrepreneurs.

CHOSEN was based in 2020 by Rajan, a beauty dermatologist with about 20 years of scientific expertise who additionally runs the RENDER pores and skin and hair clinic in Chennai.

In response to the startup, its formulations grew out of in-clinic protocols developed at RENDER, and Rajan is the writer of a guide titled Sunscreens for Pores and skin of Color.

The model makes merchandise for melanin-rich Indian pores and skin. Its method attracts on the science of the exposome, which research how environmental and life-style elements equivalent to warmth, humidity, air pollution and stress have an effect on the pores and skin. It focuses on 4 areas of ageing: pigmentation, pores and skin texture, facial contour and hair ageing.

The startup follows what its lead investor calls a clinic-to-consumer model. Sufferers begin remedy below a dermatologist’s steerage after which proceed on their very own by shopping for from CHOSEN’s on-line retailer.

On the time of the Might spherical, the startup mentioned its model was constructed on insights from greater than 150,000 consultations, that almost 95% of its on-line gross sales got here by means of its personal platform, and that round 70% of its income got here from repeat prospects, largely ladies aged 30 to 50.

Its portfolio now spans greater than 50 merchandise throughout skincare, haircare, physique care and nutraceuticals, and its merchandise are prescribed by greater than 2,000 docs. Its best-known merchandise embrace the SAFESCREEN NEXGEN sunscreen and the CHOSEN Sculpt serum.

CHOSEN sells by means of its personal web site and on platforms together with Amazon, Myntra, Swiggy, FirstClub and Distacart. It delivers to most serviceable pin codes in India, and its precedence markets are Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Ahmedabad and Goa.

It additionally ships to the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, the UAE, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong and Thailand. In Might, the startup mentioned it was getting ready to increase into “pores and skin of color” markets in Latin America and East Asia.